Support from Congress

Members of Congress were asked to comment on the release of the Darfur scorecard, and some took advantage of the invitation. Below are members’ remarks.

You may also wish to read quotes made by members of Congress after the 2004 congressional resolution declaring a genocide in Darfur.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
“The Genocide Intervention Network’s scorecards will keep the pressure on Congress, reminding them that while progress has been made, more needs to be done. Although the Senate took action this year to address the genocide taking place in Darfur, as many as 2 million people remain displaced and up to 5,000 people die each month from violence.”
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
“The genocide in Darfur is a tragedy that shocks the conscience of everyone who cares about human rights and basic human dignity. The United States has a moral obligation to do everything we can to protect the people of Darfur from the widespread killings, enslavement and ethnic cleansing, and I remain totally committed to bringing about a permanent end to these atrocities.
“The Genocide Intervention Network’s scorecards are an important reminder that there will be accountability for members of Congress when it comes to ending the genocide in Darfur. I will continue to support and advocate for strong U.S. government initiatives to achieve this as I join so many in praying for the safety of the people of Darfur.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
“I appreciate the Genocide Intervention Network’s recognition, and commend the organization on its tireless efforts to stop these heinous crimes against humanity, not just in Sudan, but around the world.”
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
“The genocide in Darfur continues, and so must our outrage. I want to commend the Genocide Intervention Network for their outstanding leadership on this issue, and I will continue to work in Congress to raise awareness and action to stop the massacre of innocents in Darfur.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
“It’s past time for politicians to be held accountable for their actions on Darfur, not just their words. This scorecard will give the millions of Americans who care about Darfur — from students to religious groups — the tools to do just that.”
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
“I am proud to have earned an A on the Genocide Intervention Network’s Darfur scorecard. This is an important tool for people to use to learn what their elected officials are doing to end this atrocity.
“The genocide in Darfur is a tragedy that demands a global response. Unfortunately, this response has so far been far too tepid and too slow. While efforts to expand peacekeeping in Darfur and negotiations with the Sudanese government are important, it is critical to remember that the killing of Darfuris continues. That is why I have fought for the U.S. to provide more money to the African Mission forces in Sudan and additional humanitarian aid to Darfur. The Bush Administration must also support a stronger UN peacekeeping and relief mission for the region. Ending the violence in Darfur is both a moral responsibility and in US security interests.”
Former Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
“I am honored to have received such a high score from the Genocide Intervention Network. The genocide being perpetrated in Sudan must be stopped and Congress must take a leadership role in bringing the issue to the attention of the world community.”

Quotes from Members of Congress in 2004

Several members of Congress made statements in 2004, following the declaration of genocide in Darfur.

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
“Let us not look back 10 years from now, wishing we had done more, saying what we have heard said oftentimes on this floor and in halls around the world about Rwanda, ‘I wish we would have done more. I wish we would have taken action.’
“We do not want to be in that position again. This is the time. This is the opportunity we have to take those steps, to take that action. This is not a political issue as evidenced by the fact that there is broad bipartisan support. This is an issue of morality. It calls upon every single one of us in this room and on this planet to search our own hearts and souls and to think about what it is we can do individually to stop this tragedy. It is a calling. It is a moral calling on us all.”
Rep. Tancredo earned an A+ on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)
“It is incumbent upon us to support an intervention protection force that will stop the killing and protect citizens, humanitarian relief workers and international monitors. We must work closely with the African Union and the United Nations to bring peacekeeping forces and diplomatic authority to change Khartoum's evil and monstrous policies. Africa and the international community cannot stand by while black Africans are deliberately killed because of who they are. This historic action today by our Congress will signal to the world that we will no longer deal with genocide in hindsight, but we will denounce it when we see it and hold those who commit genocide responsible for their evil actions.”
Rep. Lantos earned an A+ on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
“Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we can prevent the loss of life. There is a way that our actions can matter. We have seen the faces of women holding their emaciated babies to their chest with tears streaming down their faces, and we have seen the photos of burned-out villages. What is reflected in the eyes of these women is at once utter relief at having found the camp and unimaginable grief in the tragic and needless losses they have endured. Some of them bear the physical scars of beatings and branding, but many more of them bear the emotional scars of brutal rape by the evil Janjaweed militias.
“Mr. Speaker, even in the camps, the people are not safe from harm. The people in this crisis make an impossible decision every day. They have to decide whether to send the old men and boys for firewood fearing that they will be killed, or whether to send the women and girls for firewood fearing that they will be raped. Mr. Speaker, this horrifying choice is unacceptable. America and the world must demand that humanitarian aid workers have access to these suffering souls in order to bring them the food that they need, and further that credible peacekeepers enter Sudan in order to provide the critical and desperately needed security so that their lives, their future is not further marred by the horrible choices they were forced to make in order to survive.
“Mr. Speaker, the people of Darfur should have a future. We must pass House Concurrent Resolution 467. Anything less would be a disgraceful failure before the eyes of God and humanity.”
Rep. Franks earned a C on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)
“This is something that we did not do 10 years ago when genocide was happening in Rwanda. We looked the other way. But we are not going to look the other way in 2004. We must also impress upon the world community, the AU, the EU, the Islamic Front, all of the groups, that they must come together and that they must declare and work towards having civility return to Sudan.”
Rep. Payne earned an A+ on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
“When the tragedy occurred in Rwanda, everyone was embarrassed, sad, and contrite and said that it was not going to happen again. Never again could we ignore all of God's children being destroyed by each other and sit back and watch it happen to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people.
“We have now been told that 30,000 people will die in the Sudan, and if we do not act, then hundreds of thousands more will die. How can we tolerate this? How can we call ourselves persons who care about every person living on the face of the Earth and not care about each and every one of these children and their parents and their families in the Sudan?”
Rep. Pelosi earned an A+ on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
“Mr. Speaker, only a short time ago we paused here to mark the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. More than 800,000 died while the world watched, and did nothing. Once again genocide is unfolding before us. Those who have taken note have expressed their horror at what they have seen. But where is the public outcry? Where are the front page pictures? Where is the response of our government on behalf of the American people?
“The ominous sign is that our government is willing to turn its eyes away from genocide in the West of the Sudan in favor of resuming oil production in the oil rich Southern region.
“The question we now confront is this: is the slaughter of hundreds of thousands, even millions of Africans, terrorism? If our struggle against terrorism is truly global, can we be truly engaged in a global war on terrorism, and not engage genocide in Africa?”
Rep. Davis earned an C on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)
“I stand here tonight not only as a Member of Congress, but as a Jew and as a grandmother. Each year in the Capitol Rotunda, there is a solemn and inspiring ceremony to mark the Holocaust, the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Third Reich, and one of the themes of that event is never again. But it did happen again, and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) listed the scenes of genocide since World War II, and now in the Sudan. And this House and the other body and the administration have a choice to make: Do we or do we not act to stop it?”
Rep. Schakowsky earned an A+ on the Darfur scorecard.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
“This is an important act we take, but it is not enough, because words will not save those children. Words alone will not protect those women from assault and ravage. Words will not feed those people. Words will not prevent the death; but words hopefully will be the beginning of action, a call to morality, a call to civilization, a call to the international community to live out the promises that it included in the United Nations charter, with hope of a new and better and safer and more moral world. That is what this resolution is about.”
Rep. Hoyer earned a C on the Darfur scorecard.