Reps. Cushingberry, Jackson, Bieda, Brandenburg, Constan, Dean, Espinoza, Farrah, Gonzales, Hammel, Johnson, Robert Jones, LeBlanc, Lemmons, Mayes, Sheltrown, Alma Smith, Tobocman, Vagnozzi and Wojno offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 63.

            A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to prohibit federal funds from going to any business or entity that works with the Sudanese government.

            Whereas, With casualties running in the hundreds of thousands and millions displaced, the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan has defied solution for many years. The heartbreaking atrocities being carried out by the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militia, which were acknowledged to be genocide by the Bush administration in 2004, clearly cannot be brought to a halt by diplomatic means or by the weight of criticism from around the world; and

            Whereas, With each report of tribal massacre, rape, and unspeakable cruelty, the need for effective action grows. Many are reminded of the pressures that were brought to bear upon the South African system of apartheid a generation ago by a rising tide of economic sanctions from the United States and other countries; and

            Whereas, It is long past time for the United States to put in place formal measures to halt the flow of American dollars to any entity or business that works with the Sudanese government in any capacity other than those that are purely humanitarian or peacekeeping in nature. Government contracts and pension funds must not be going to businesses or entities operating in the Sudan.  American businesses dealing with the Sudanese government should disclose their actions. It is a moral imperative that we must make every possible effort to stop the atrocities so that a long-term solution to the region's problems can be found; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to prohibit federal funds from going to any business or entity that works with the Sudanese government in any capacity other than solely humanitarian or peacekeeping efforts; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.