May 26, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE 10911 Quereshi said the army rejected Indian thoritarian. There are a number of monwealth of The Northern Mariana claims. He said the Pakistan army suspects problems in China that we aren’t expe- Islands (a U.S. Territory),’’ the report India wants to occupy Pakistan territory in riencing with India. demonstrates in disturbing detail the that area. We need to broaden this relationship continued trafficking of humans for in- India and Pakistan have fought two of with India and with Pakistan. It is just their three wars over Kashmir, which is di- dentured labor in factories and sex vided between them by a U.N.-monitored that at the present time, given what trade emporiums in the Marianas. Im- cease-fire line. More than 15,000 people have has just taken place in the escalating plicating organized crime groups from been killed in fighting between rebels and se- of tension in this subcontinent by In- the People’s Republic of China, South curity forces in Indian-held Kashmir in the dian military forces, I don’t feel com- Asia, and Japan, the report estimates last 10 years. fortable offering this amendment. that there are about 40,000 indentured Pakistan and India, which were partitioned I look forward to working in good workers in the CNMI, earning about when they gained independence from Britain faith with all of my colleagues to ad- $160 million in profits for criminal syn- in 1947, tested nuclear weapons in May 1998, dress the United States-South Asian dicates. prompting fears of a nuclear arms race in the relationship. I note to Members of the Indentured workers are being used to subcontinent. Both countries claim all of Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of sending Senate that we will be holding hearings manufacture ostensibly as ‘‘Made in militants across the border. in the Foreign Relations Committee to the USA’’ garments for export to the A Pakistani army spokesman said the In- look further into what we need to do in United States. None of these goods are dian allegations that elite troops were aiding building this stronger relationship. required to be shipped to the U.S. on militants was ‘‘complete rubbish.’’ Mr. President, I yield the floor. U.S.-flag ships in accordance with the Indian Maj. Gen Joginder Jaswant Singh The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Jones Act. This duty-free, quota-free told reporters in New Delhi that the infiltra- ator from Hawaii. zone in which foreign workers produce tors have taken up positions four miles in- Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask high value goods at below minimum side India in the Dras, Batalik, Kaksar and unanimous consent that I have 10 min- wage is an entirely legal scheme for Mashkok mountains of northern Kashmir. utes in morning business. Intelligence reports, backed by photos Chinese and other foreign manufactur- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ers to bypass American textile quotas. taken by Indian satellites, showed at least objection, it is so ordered. The Senator 600 infiltrators, Singh said. The reports also The report also graphically details said they have anti-aircraft missiles, radar, may proceed. the increasing use of CNMI’s loose im- snowmobiles and sophisticated communica- f migration standards to make this tions equipment. HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR former tropical paradise a major center The air force joined the operation because for the booming Asian sex trade. the infiltrators had occupied positions at al- FORCED LABOR IN AN AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH Women from Asia and Russia are being titudes of up to 16,000 feet, said Air Com- lured to the Northern Marianas with modore Subash Bhojwani, director of offen- Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise promises of work opportunities in the sive operations. today to call your attention to a scan- In Dras, 100 miles from the state capital of United States only to find themselves dal in an American commonwealth. It imprisoned on islands from which there Srinagar, Indian army officers said the tar- is a scandal that involves forced labor get of today’s attack was some 70 infiltrators is no escape unless they agree to their who had entrenched themselves on the slopes and sex trade workers. It’s not a pretty employer’s demands that they become of the snowcapped hills, looking down at In- picture. It is a picture of a tropical par- prostitutes and sex hostesses. This sick dian army convoys, 2,700 feet below. adise destroyed by greed and corrup- trade in prostitution must be stopped. Their command of the heights handicapped tion. Loopholes in the Immigration and Indian soldiers trying to evict them, officers In the Commonwealth of the North- Nationality Act and the Fair Labor told The Associated Press. ern Mariana Islands, foreign workers Standards Act of 1938 need to be Army officers in the area said the infiltra- have been imported in mass to assem- tors must have taken months to occupy the plugged as soon as possible. I hope you ble goods for export to the United will join me in ending this deplorable posts. They said Indian forces could take States. Taking advantage of loopholes three to six months to clear them. situation in which men and women are The attacks were carried out within In- in our immigration and labor laws, for- being used virtually as slaves on an dian-occupied regions, Indian Brig. Mohan eign businessmen use the Mariana Is- American commonwealth. Bhandari said. Troops were expected to take lands as a base to export garments to Their report makes many important over the intruders’ positions once they re- the United States. These foreign busi- recommendations. Let me call your at- treat, officials said. nessmen pay no export taxes, and their tention to four key issues which the The exchange of mortar and heavy artil- goods are not subject to textile quotas. Congress could and should act upon lery fire in the Kargil and Dras regions has Their workers are paid below minimum left at least 160 people dead, Bhandari said. this year: Thousands of residents of the region have wage levels, if paid at all, and often Extend the Immigration and Nation- fled to safe villages along the Suru River. live in deplorable conditions. ality Act to the CNMI; The attack came a day after Prime Min- Women from Asia and Russia are im- Extend the Fair Labor Standards Act ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said all steps in- ported with the promise of high paying of 1938 to the CNMI; cluding airstrikes would be taken to push jobs in the United States only to find Revoke the CNMI’s ability to use the back the infiltrators. Vajpayee said he themselves marooned with no means of ‘‘Made in the USA label’’ unless more warned his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz escape, forced to work as prostitutes in than 75 percent of the labor that goes Sharif, to withdraw the intruders in a tele- the booming Mariana sex trade. into the manufacture of the garment phone conversation Monday. This long-running scandal has been comes from U.S. citizens and/or aliens Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I exposed once again by the Global Sur- lawfully admitted to the U.S. for per- want to simply note again that we held vival Network. This American-based manent residence, and other appro- a hearing yesterday on what is taking nongovernmental organization which priately legal individuals; and place in India and on military and po- uncovers human rights violations sent Revoke the CNMI’s ability to trans- litical issues. The United States needs an undercover team to the CNMI to port textile goods to the United States to broaden its relationship with India. gather evidence on the continued use of free of duties and quotas unless the We have a broad-based relationship forced labor in the commonwealth. garments meet the above criteria. with China which has been strained They have just issued their report This week’s report prepared by the and stressed. China is an authoritarian which was the subject of an ABC News Global Survival Network is not the country. India is a democracy. There segment on ‘‘20/20.’’ If you did not see first analysis raising concerns about are a number of places that we are the television broadcast, please read conditions in the CNMI. In recent sanctioning India where we don’t sanc- the report which I am sending to every years, a chorus of criticism has sur- tion China at all. Yet these are com- Senator. faced about the Commonwealth. parable-sized countries. One has a Entitled ‘‘Trapped: Human Traf- For example, the Immigration and democratic tradition, the other an au- ficking for Forced Labor in The Com- Naturalization Service reports that the

VerDate Aug 04 2004 14:15 Oct 02, 2004 Jkt 069102 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR99\S26MY9.000 S26MY9 10912 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE May 26, 1999 CNMI has no reliable records of aliens MICROSOFT VERSUS DOJ The explosive growth of the Internet who have entered the Commonwealth, Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, what a will eventually have a fundamental im- how long they remain, and when, if difference a year makes. One year ago pact on every aspect of American life. ever, they depart. A CNMI official tes- last week, the United States Govern- A recent Newsweek article describes tified that they have ‘‘no effective con- ment filed a Sherman Antitrust law- what it calls the ‘‘New Digital Galaxy’’ trol’’ over immigration in their island. suit against the Microsoft Corporation. which allows consumers to operate de- The bipartisan Commission on Immi- This anniversary is a good time to re- vices from coffee-makers to dish- gration studied immigration and inden- view that lawsuit and to see how radi- washers via Internet access. This will tured labor in the CNMI. The Commis- cally the universe of competition has introduce a vastly different landscape sion called it ‘‘antithetical to Amer- changed in just twelve months. in high-technology than exists today. ican values,’’ and announced that no I am not at all unbiased. I believe Users will not necessarily use sta- democratic society has an immigration that the Government was dead wrong tionary Personal Computers to access policy like the CNMI. ‘‘The closest in bringing this lawsuit. I believe that information, but instead rely on Web equivalent is Kuwait,’’ the Commission the lawsuit is bad for consumers, bad phones, palmtop computers and similar found. for technological innovation, and bad technology that is advancing at an ex- The Department of Commerce found for a marvelous company that is ponential rate. that the territory has become ‘‘a Chi- headquartered in my State. The Internet has had the fastest nese province’’ for garment production. But even an independent analysis adoption rate of any new medium in The CNMI garment industry employs would conclude that the case that the history. Over 50 million users were con- 15,000 Chinese workers, some of whom Clinton administration brought twelve nected in the first five years. To reach sign contracts that forbid participation months ago bears little resemblance to the 50 million user milestone, it took in religious or political activities while the case it now argues. Since then the 38 years for radio, 13 years for tele- on U.S. soil. China is exporting its Government’s case hasn’t been tried in vision, and 10 years for cable. On top of workers, and its human rights policies, the courthouse as much as on the this initial growth, the number of users to the CNMI. Charges of espionage by courthouse steps, bypassing the law continues to increase by an astounding China and security lapses in U.S. nu- and aimed directly at public opinion 37% per year. It is projected that 200 clear weapons labs have justifiably through a national media that delights million people worldwide will be con- raised serious concerns in Congress. in highlighting any Microsoft misstep nected to the web in 1999, and half a Every Member of Congress should be even though it has no relation to any billion by 2003. To handle the volume, equally concerned with the imposition harm to consumers. the backbone of the Internet now dou- of Chinese human rights standards on The administration pursues this case bles in capacity every 100 days. American soil. for ideological reasons. This adminis- Not only is the number of users in- The CNMI is becoming an inter- tration is filled with people who are of- creasing exponentially, but the amount national embarrassment to the United fended by anyone or any company that of information available to them is States. We have received complaints is too successful. They believe that it also growing at an unprecedented level. from the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, is fundamentally unfair that Microsoft The International Data Corporation es- and Bangladesh about immigration does so well. Much of the national timates the number of web pages on abuses and the treatment of workers. media seems to share this view. the World Wide Web at 829 million at Despite efforts by the Reagan, Bush The administration has, however, the end of 1998, and projects that the and Clinton administrations to per- miscalculated the views of a majority number grow by 75 percent to 1.45 bil- suade the CNMI to correct these prob- of Americans. Despite the Govern- lion by the end of 1999. By 2002, accord- lems, the situation has only deterio- ment’s attempts to turn the public ing to IDC, there will be 7.7 billion web rated. against Microsoft, it continues to be pages. After years of waiting for the CNMI one of the most respected companies in What does this mean to the future of to achieve reform, the time for pa- America, and a majority of Americans global commerce? Considering that 18 tience has ended. Conditions in the believe Microsoft is right and the Gov- million consumers made purchases on CNMI are a looming political embar- ernment is wrong in this current law- the Internet in 1997, and that number is rassment to our country. suit. projected to increase to 128 million by I urge the Senate to respond by en- In a recent poll conducted by Citizens 2002, the possibilities are limitless. In acting S. 1052, bipartisan reform legis- for a Sound Economy, 82% of those real dollars, this translates into $200 lation introduced by my colleagues on polled responded that Microsoft is good billion in Net-based commerce by 2000, the Senate Energy and Natural Re- for American consumers. This survey and $1 trillion by 2003. sources Committee, Chairman MUR- also found that seven-out-of-ten Amer- We can’t begin today fully to under- KOWSKI and Senator BINGAMAN. ican consumers feel that technology stand the scope of freedom for people I urge the Senate to move on this companies, not the Federal Govern- that this information revolution will measure as quickly as we can. ment, should determine what features bring. And all the while Microsoft and Ms. COLLINS addressed the Chair. and applications are included in the its competitors continue to bring bet- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- software that consumers use with their ter products at lower prices to all con- ator from Maine is recognized. computers. sumers. (The remarks of Ms. COLLINS per- Most Americans understand the While this case has been in the court, taining to the introduction of S. 1124 value that Microsoft has brought. we have heard almost no discussion are located in today’s RECORD under Microsoft products make nearly every about whether the dramatic changes of ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and business in America more competitive. the last year have rendered this case Joint Resolutions.’’) The technology revolution fueled by moot. I believe they do, and here’s Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair. Microsoft has made Americans secure why. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- in their jobs and made more families In the presence of a company exert- ator from Washington. secure in their future. ing real monopoly power, competitors Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, are we Microsoft has also helped usher in would be stifled, prices would rise, in morning business, and are there the most important change occurring choices would be curtailed, consumers time limits? on earth: today the power of informa- would be harmed. In fact, in the last The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tion has been taken from a few large twelve months the real world for con- ate is in morning business until 10:15. centralized institutions and put di- sumers has improved by all of these The Senator is authorized to speak for rectly into the hands of people in every measures. Competition in the tech- up to 10 minutes. town and village across our globe via nology industry is alive and well and Mr. GORTON. I thank the Chair. the Internet. nipping at the heels of Microsoft—all

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