Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, for most of this year, we have witnessed a repeat of the carnage and the havoc that the world experienced during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia at the beginning of the decade. Some people, not this Member, had a degree of optimism with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement some 3 years ago. However, now once again we are faced with the tragic spectacle of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians made homeless, towns and villages in ruins, unknown numbers of persons dead or missing in Kosovo.

The architect of this misery is of Slobodan Milosevic, the very same individual who produced the Bosnian tragedy or at least contributed mightily to it and presided over the dissolution of what was once Yugoslavia, who brought poverty and misery to his own Serbian people by his policy and actions and who has sown the seeds of strident nationalism throughout the Balkans. Yet, despite this disgraceful record and his undeniable responsibility for what has occurred in the former Yugoslavia and what continues to this very day, the international community has been hesitant to indict Milosevic for crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

The distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, our distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), has introduced a resolution that simply puts the Congress on record that if anyone deserves to be indicted, it is Slobodan Milosevic.

An identical measure, S. Con. Res. 105, passed the Senate in July. We need to put Milosevic, and others who may be responsible for the savagery in Kosovo, on notice that they cannot escape culpability. It is important that Milosevic fully understands that the Congress is supportive of U.S. efforts to curb his vicious assaults on ethnic Albanian civilians in that area. Whatever his reasons, wanton attacks on civilians constitutes a grave breach of international law.

Our chairman, the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) has also called upon Secretary Albright to provide whatever collaborative information the U.S. might possess regarding any atrocities in Kosovo. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) is requesting a review of the options, that the administration is prepared to pursue to make Mr. Milosevic cooperate with the international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need in Kosovo, and to permit displaced persons to return to their homes in safety.

Mr. Speaker, I understand Chairman Gilman is awaiting the Secretary's response in view of the mounting severity of the situation and the approach of winter. Unless the United States and the international community acts swiftly in the next few weeks, we face the prospect of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, women, children, and the elderly, becoming ill and dying in the cold which will soon set in the mountains of Kosovo.    [TO TOP OF PAGE]

Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable, of course, and we must act now to prevent such a catastrophe. It is imperative that the House join our colleagues in the Senate and agree to this resolution today in order to send a strong message that Milosevic is accountable. I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H. Con. Res. 304.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) the author of the resolution.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Chairman Bereuter), my good friend, for his excellent remarks and for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, the newspapers each day report on the brutality and the military attacks on the civilians in Kosovo, and the prospects of a rising death toll are more and more likely unless we press for a cease-fire and make certain that Milosevic understands that we will not allow the situation to drag on and on.

The news from the Kosovo front seems like deja vu, reminiscent of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. The common thread in all of this destruction and war is Slobodan Milosevic. Today, Congress can go on record. Slobodan Milosevic must be held accountable for war crimes against humanity and genocide. The United States leadership must not ignore the compelling case of complicity which has been compiled against Milosevic.

In the prima facie case for Milosevic's indictment prepared by Paul Williams and Norman Cigar, they conclude that this, and I quote, `is a compelling and legal factual case that Slobodan Milosevic, through forces and agencies under his control, is responsible for directing and aiding and abetting war crimes on an extensive scale.'

The prima facie case focuses on evidence from years of both the Croatian war and the Bosnian war. Mr. Williams directs the Public International Law and Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Dr. Cigar, a research fellow at the Balkan Institute, was professor of national security studies at the U.S. Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting in Quantico, Virginia, and a senior political-military analyst for the Army Staff at the Pentagon. For the benefit of my colleagues, I submit a summary of their statement for the Record: