I want to thank all who shared with me their concern about Darfur in town hall meetings. letters. phone calls. and emails over the last three years. Today the Congress is answering their calls for action. Passing this bill is an all important step to ending the genocide and beginning to hold those who are guilty accountable. Yet. today there is great suffering in Darfur. The murders continue. The brutal violence still occurs. The rapes persist. People still live in fear. Since 2003. over 200.000 innocent civilians have been slaughtered. More than two million Sudanese civilians are displaced and many live in temporary refugee camps. More disturbing. over three million Sudanese are in need of humanitarian assistance. The images are stark.