Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the fight against corruption in Central America.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure.

Let me start by thanking the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, from California. I am also especially grateful to another colleague from California, Norma Torres, a valuable member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for authoring this bipartisan resolution, and also for her leadership as the founding co-chair of the Central America Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, when a child from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras arrives at our southern border, he or she didn't get there because it was an easy journey. It was because poverty, crime, or lack of opportunity at home left that child no option but to face that long, dangerous trek. No child anywhere should be forced to make that heartbreaking choice.

The best way to ensure that this doesn't happen is not to build a wall or isolate ourselves from our neighbors. It is to stop children from having to make that journey in the first place. It is by making long-term, strategic investments in a more secure and prosperous Central America.

Over the last 2 years, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have come together to do just that. We made a bold, new foreign assistance commitment to Central America that helps address the root causes of child migration from the region.

A big part of this effort is supporting those individuals who are working day in and day out to root out corruption in Central America: the attorneys general in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; the heads of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala; and the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras.

These brave individuals put their lives on the line on a daily basis. This resolution that we are voting on signals that the United States agrees with them and has their backs.

To Guatemala's Attorney General Thelma Aldana, Honduran Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla, Salvadoran Attorney General Douglas Melendez, CICIG Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, and MACCIH Chief of Mission Juan Jimenez: Today we come to the floor of the House of Representatives to say thank you and to proclaim that we stand with you and your institutions in the fight against corruption.

This measure sends a strong message that our Congress, which has the ultimate say over funding for Central America, stands with those who are committed to putting an end to corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

We may have a new President in the White House and a new Secretary of State at Foggy Bottom, but Congress continues to have the power of the purse; and Democrats and Republicans, alike, believe that continued international support for the attorneys general and CICIG and MACCIH is key to the continued success of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle.

In December, I led a letter to the attorneys general from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, along with Representative Ros- Lehtinen and several other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, commending their efforts, pledging our ongoing support, and, most importantly, noting how crucial it is that they be able to carry out their work free from any interference from political leaders in their countries. With passage of H. Res. 145, the entire House of Representatives can and will send that same message.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), the author of this resolution, a leader on Central American issues, and a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

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

Let me say that, as a father, I cannot imagine being faced with the choice of letting my children risk violence or death from criminal gangs or malnutrition, or taking a dangerous journey hundreds of miles on their own. No parent or child should ever be forced to make this choice. Unfortunately, far too many families in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras must do so on a daily basis.

The good news is that our Congress has decided to make a much-needed, long-term investment in Central America. At the core of these efforts is our commitment to support institutions and individuals that are rooting out corruption.

H. Res. 145 makes it clear that our continued investment in Central America will depend on support for anticorruption efforts from the Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran Governments.

Let me finally note that I am heartened that the fight against corruption in the hemisphere is not just limited to Central America. From Brazil to Chile to the Caribbean, the citizens of the Americas have finally had enough and have vowed to put an end to corruption once and for all. The least that our Congress can do is support these valiant efforts.

I again thank Chairman Royce for working so well with me, putting our heads together over time, and passing good resolutions and legislation like this.

I again thank Congresswoman Torres for introducing this crucial resolution and for her hard work on it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 145) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the fight against corruption in Central America, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous materials in the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 145, which affirms this body's support for the independent anticorruption commissions in Central America that seek to combat corruption and combat impunity in the countries of the Northern Triangle region.

I would like to commend the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), a new member of the committee, for her work on this important resolution. Of course, I appreciate Mr. Engel, the ranking member and the former chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, for his long-time focus on this critical region.

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, the U.S. has seen a surge in illegal migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Now, that is the Northern Triangle of Central America.

Many of these migrants are fleeing violence. They are fleeing criminality and institutionalized corruption. More than anything, the citizens of these countries want governments that will work for them.

As a result of these governments, the international community has responded. Governments in the region, including the United States, have helped to establish the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala--that is called CICIG--and the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, known as MACCIH.

Both of these organizations are making important contributions to tackling the culture of corruption and impunity in their respective countries and are working to give the citizens of these countries confidence in their own judiciary. These organizations have put politicians and public servants on notice that nobody should be above the law and that their citizenry demands transparency.

For example, this special body in Honduras has begun to assist the Office of the Attorney General with the investigation into the more than $300 million that was embezzled from the Institute of Social Security and, in Guatemala, has trained the prosecutors that successfully built high-profile corruption cases against multiple government officials, including the former Guatemalan President, President Molina.

Once again, I want to thank Representative Torres for bringing this measure forward and for her efforts in working with the Northern Triangle countries to urge greater respect for an independent judiciary and to bring greater security and prosperity to the people of the Northern Triangle countries.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Norma Torres for authoring this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Moolenaar), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

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

Mr. Speaker, this important measure by Congresswoman Norma Torres affirms this body's support for all efforts to combat corruption in Central America. The people of this region have been living in societies that, because of corruption, and that corruption has become endemic, has led to gang violence, to criminality, to high levels of impunity. And these conditions directly affect the ability of these governments to bring peace and prosperity to all of its citizens, and that, in turn, fuels the flows of those who leave illegally, migrants, to the Northern Hemisphere--well, to the United States.

So the citizens of Northern Triangle countries, those in this region, want to live in safety in their own countries, and we can help by supporting efforts by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala and its counterpart in Honduras, and those others in the region that are fighting for these efforts that enable an independent judiciary and a judiciary that combats corruption.

Norma Torres' work on Central America has helped to build capacity in these countries to begin providing security for its citizens, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

I applaud the work that both Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel have done in helping to focus more of our foreign policy priority here in our own Western Hemisphere.

I also applaud Congresswoman Norma Torres for authoring the measure that we have before us today, H. Res. 145, reaffirming our dedication to the fight against corruption in Central America. It is an important measure, Mr. Speaker, and it is an important fight.

For years, I have been a strong advocate for this fight because, where corruption is allowed to spread, drug trafficking and crime inevitably thrive;

and this is negative for our neighbors, it is bad for us, and it is bad for our interests. That is why it is vital that we make battling corruption in the region more of a priority of our foreign policy.

In fact, earlier this year, I traveled to Honduras and Guatemala with my good friend Albio Sires, and we saw firsthand how these governments are attempting to tackle corruption in their countries. It is not easy, Mr. Speaker. They are making progress and taking some of the tough decisions necessary, but there is so much more to be done and so much more that they need to do, but they need help from the United States.

That is what we heard when we hosted the attorneys general from the Northern Triangle countries here in Washington, D.C., just last month to discuss what they are doing to fight corruption and what assistance they might need from us. That is why this resolution before us is so important and so timely.

We must urge the governments of Central America to do more to battle corruption, but we also must pledge to do more ourselves because they cannot do it alone. Central American governments must take a stand and voice their support for anticorruption programs. They must respect and defend the authority of the judicial branch, and they must make it a priority. That is not easy for them to do.

Some of these governments have shown a willingness to take these steps, but, sadly, Mr. Speaker, not all of them have. While we urge willing partners to take the steps necessary to fight corruption, we must be willing to do more for those unwilling.

That is why I have reintroduced my NICA Act, which aims at tightening the economic screws on the Ortega regime until we see some drastic reforms, including efforts to end corruption. It is our duty to support our neighbors so that our partners to the south can live in far more open, free, and democratic societies.

It is also in the benefit of our security and it is in the benefit of our national interests to do so. That is why I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 145. I also urge my colleagues to support my NICA Act and to take a more engaged role in our foreign policy interests in our own Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 145, expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the fight against corruption in Central America.

In too many Central American countries, it has become common practice for government officials to use public office to enrich themselves instead of serving the public good. For too long, corruption has allowed violence and poverty to hold these countries back.

But recently, the people of Central America have made it clear that they are ready for a change. In the last 2 years, young people from across the region have taken to the streets and demonstrated, and some real progress has been made.

In Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the attorneys general have demonstrated independence and real courage.

In Guatemala, Attorney General Thelma Aldana has worked closely with CICIG, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala. Under the leadership of Ivan Velasquez, CICIG has been instrumental in improving the capacity of Guatemala's prosecutors and has assisted with effective investigations into corruption and human rights violations.

In Honduras, Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla has worked with the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, MACCIH, since 2016. Led by Juan Jimenez, MACCIH has promoted important legal reforms and is assisting with the investigations of high-profile corruption cases.

In El Salvador, Attorney General Douglas Melendez has made significant progress in tackling high-level corruption cases. I hope that the Government of El Salvador will recognize the value of CICIG and MACCIH and accept the international assistance that the attorney general and his prosecutors so clearly need.

Mr. Speaker, the countries of the Northern Triangle are at a crucial point in this fight against corruption, and we cannot turn back the progress that has been made. This resolution will send a very clear message that the United States will be a steadfast partner in its support for the fight against corruption in Central America.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their support and hard work in advancing this resolution.

Additionally, I thank Congressman Moolenaar, who worked with me to draft and introduce this resolution and who has been a strong supporter and advocate of the fight against corruption in Central America.

I also thank all of the cosponsors of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for supporting this bipartisan resolution and moving it through the Foreign Affairs Committee.

I especially want to thank Congresswoman Torres for her leadership as a true champion on this issue and helping us all understand the importance of this.

This resolution makes it clear that the United States strongly supports the anticorruption efforts in the Northern Triangle of Central America. Already, officials across the region are making headway. The attorney general of Guatemala, in particular, has made progress in taking on corruption at the highest levels of government.

This resolution will reinforce support for these efforts in the region and will send a clear message to the millions of people who live in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras that the United States wants them to have a safe country, free of corrupt officials who steal from them.

By supporting the efforts of our allies to fight corruption, it is my hope that these governments will continue to promote respect for the rule of law, thereby making it better for residents to live, work, and raise a family in their homelands.