January 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 16 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S681-S682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 30--CONDEMNING EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY IN 
HUNGARY AND URGING PRESIDENT TRUMP TO DEFEND THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS 
       AND DEMOCRATIC NORMS UNDER ATTACK BY THE ORBAN GOVERNMENT

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Murphy) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 30

       Whereas the United States and Hungary have a shared history 
     dating to the times of Lajos Kossuth, whose bust graces the 
     halls of the United States Congress;
       Whereas Hungarians have come to the United States since its 
     founding as immigrants and refugees, enriching our national 
     fabric;
       Whereas the United States first established diplomatic 
     relations with Hungary in 1921;
       Whereas the United States supported Hungary's accession to 
     the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1999, improving 
     Hungary's national security and building upon our common 
     alliance;
       Whereas NATO member states have collectively identified 
     corruption and poor governance, including within member 
     states, as ``security challenges which undermine democracy, 
     the rule of law and economic development'';
       Whereas Viktor Orban has led the Fidesz party since 2003 
     and has continuously served as Hungary's Prime Minister since 
     2010;
       Whereas, since 2010, the Fidesz government has retained a 
     super majority in Parliament despite not winning a majority 
     of votes, and Prime Minister Orban has systematically 
     undermined the Hungarian Constitution, independent media and 
     judiciary;
       Whereas Hungary's 2011 law on religion discriminates 
     against some minority faiths by stripping legal recognition 
     from more than 300 previously recognized faiths, violating 
     their rights to freedom of association and freedom of 
     religion, and has spurred a legal challenge from a range of 
     religious faiths in Hungary, including the Hungarian 
     Evangelical Fellowship and Mennonite, reform Jewish, and 
     Buddhist congregations;
       Whereas, following the 2014 Parliamentary elections in 
     Hungary, the OSCE noted that Fidesz enjoyed an undue 
     advantage because of restrictive campaign regulations, biased 
     media coverage, and campaign activities that blurred the 
     separation between political party and the state;
       Whereas Prime Minister Orban used his parliamentary super 
     majority to redraw Hungary's electoral map and reduce the 
     number of seats in Hungary's Parliament, providing an 
     advantage which has allowed the Prime Minister to more easily 
     remain in power;
       Whereas the Government of Hungary created the National 
     Media and Communications Agency and empowered it to impose 
     fines against independent media outlets for coverage the 
     government finds unbalanced or offensive;
       Whereas, in November 2018, more than 400 media 
     publications, websites, television

[[Page S682]]

     channels and radio stations in Hungary, already concentrated 
     in the hands of a few owners, were donated, without 
     compensation, by their owners to a central holding company 
     which, according to a subsequently passed law, is exempt from 
     competition oversight;
       Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2017 report 
     on human rights, Hungary has passed a series of laws 
     modifying the judicial system by restricting the 
     Constitutional Court, altering the rules for electing 
     Constitution Court justices, and vested the president of the 
     National Office for the Judiciary, a position appointed by 
     the parliament, with significant decision-making power;
       Whereas, according to a Human Rights Watch analysis of 
     Hungary's judicial reforms since 2011, changes to the 
     judiciary have undermined an important check on the 
     government by curbing the judiciary's independence, forcing 
     nearly 300 judges into early retirement, and imposing 
     limitations on the Constitutional Court's ability to review 
     laws and complaints;
       Whereas the Government of Hungary has enacted legislation 
     stigmatizing non-governmental organizations that receive 
     financial support from abroad, drawing a legal challenge from 
     the European Court of Justice;
       Whereas, in 2017, the Government of Hungary adopted a law 
     on nongovernmental organizations that, according to the 
     Department of State, ``unfairly burdens a targeted group of 
     Hungarian civil society organizations, many of which focus on 
     fighting corruption and protecting human rights and civil 
     liberties'';
       Whereas, in February 2018, more than 250 nongovernmental 
     organizations signed a letter in opposition to Hungary's 
     ``escalating effort to crackdown on the legitimate work of 
     civil society groups in Hungary seeking to promote and defend 
     human rights, provide legal and social services to people in 
     need in the country, and publicly express dissenting opinions 
     in the press and online'';
       Whereas, in 2018, the Government of Hungary adopted 
     amendments to a law on ``aiding illegal migration,'' which 
     criminalizes the provision of assistance to refugees and 
     asylum-seekers, including public advocacy and humanitarian 
     assistance, and makes the distribution of know-your-rights 
     leaflets punishable by up to one year in prison;
       Whereas, in 2018, the Government of Hungary introduced a 25 
     percent tax on organizations that engage in disfavored speech 
     regarding immigration, thereby establishing a content-based 
     punishment to restrict free speech;
       Whereas, in 2017, the Government of Hungary enacted a law 
     requiring the mandatory detention of all asylum-seekers in 
     ``transit camps'' while their asylum applications are 
     reviewed and permitting the immediate deportation of certain 
     asylum-seekers to Serbia;
       Whereas, in response, the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees said that ``this new law violates Hungary's 
     obligations under international and EU laws, and will have a 
     terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children 
     and men who have already greatly suffered''; and
       Whereas the erosion of democratic institutions and norms in 
     Hungary has been found to be in clear violation of the 
     European Union's values, resulting in the initiation of 
     sanctions proceedings against the Orban government: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) rejects the Government of Hungary's efforts to 
     undermine the independence of the judiciary, restrict civil 
     society groups, infringe on the freedom of the press, and 
     violate the rights of asylum-seekers in Hungary; and
       (2) urges the President to vigorously defend the universal 
     freedoms and democratic norms under attack by the Orban 
     government in Hungary.

                          ____________________