Reaffirming the United States-Argentina partnership and recognizing Argentina's economic reforms.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 54) reaffirming the United States- Argentina partnership and recognizing Argentina's economic reforms, as amended.

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

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

Let me just start by thanking Mr. Sires, the author of this measure, and I rise in support of it. It reaffirms the United States-Argentina partnership.

After over a decade of economic mismanagement and corruption and alliances with the likes of Iran--well, we should say the Ayatollah in Iran--and alliances with the regime in Venezuela, the people of Argentina used their vote to usher in a new era of what I would call economic common sense and a new era of regional leadership.

Since assuming the Presidency in December 2015, President Macri has undertaken difficult economic reforms to undo the damage caused by his predecessor's policy and taken reforms to return to the global markets. He tore up the laughable agreement that President Cristina Kirchner signed with Iran to investigate the 1994 Hezbollah bombing of the Jewish community center, which killed 85 and injured hundreds of other people in the Jewish community in Argentina. He has shown regional leadership in condemning Venezuela's human and democratic rights violations.

As the new Argentinian Government undertakes difficult reforms, it needs the moral support of its allies in the region, including the support of this body. This measure seeks to reaffirm the partnership, the friendship that we share with Argentina. It commends the government's hard work in bringing Argentina back from economic ruin.

This measure also encourages the Government of Argentina to make good on its promise to finally bring the perpetrators of the 1994 bombing there

of the Jewish community center to justice, while thoroughly investigating the January 2015 death of special prosecutor Alberto Nisman. As my colleagues know, immediately before his mysterious death, Nisman was set to issue a thorough report on his findings that the government of Cristina Kirchner had colluded with Iran to conceal Iran's role in orchestrating that 1994 terrorist attack at the hands of the Iranian proxy in this case, Hezbollah.

Mr. Speaker, let me just mention another subject here. In South America, we are watching Venezuela lose any semblance of democracy or human rights. Last week, Venezuela's democratically elected National Assembly was dissolved. The Venezuelan people are greatly suffering. As Argentina has dropped its support of these authoritarians and stands with the rest of the region in strong condemnation of authoritarianism in Venezuela, the Venezuelan Government is now more isolated than ever.

Back to H. Res. 54. This reflects this body's support of and friendship with Argentina, and it reflects our gratitude for Argentine leadership in support of economic and democratic reform.

Again, I thank Mr. Sires for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), who chairs the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is the primary cosponsor of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a cosponsor of this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues; I want to thank Mr. Sires, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere; and I thank the chairman of that committee, Mr. Duncan, for their leadership in bringing this measure to the floor.

This important resolution reaffirms our relationship with the people and the government of Argentina. It calls on the State Department to develop an interagency strategy to maximize our cooperation with Argentina as our countries work together to promote democracy, to promote human rights, and to promote economic freedom across the Americas.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution.

I would like to start by thanking Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and their staffs for working with me to bring H. Res. 54 to the floor. I would like to thank my friend from South Carolina, Chairman Jeff Duncan, who is in charge of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and led a delegation to Argentina last March to help restart relations with the Macri administration.

H. Res. 54 reaffirms the strong U.S. partnership with Argentina and acknowledges their President Mauricio Macri for his efforts to make the necessary changes and bring Argentina back into the international community. President Macri worked hard to stimulate growth and bring Argentina back as a powerful player in the region after years of isolationist views from the Kirchners.

I was pleased to visit Argentina last year and see, firsthand, the changes the new government was making, and it was refreshing to see the progress already being made. Most importantly, we received assurances from the Macri administration that they will restart the investigation into the horrific 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, which left 85 dead and hundreds more injured, and the untimely and suspicious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found dead on the eve of delivering his explosive report which outlined the connections between the bombing, Iran, and former Argentina President Cristina Kirchner's efforts to cover up these links. Unfortunately, the victims of these attacks and their families still lack answers to what really occurred, and the troubling reports of Iran's role in the bombing deserves thorough investigation that finally brings the perpetrators to justice.

Argentina is a great partner and a friend, and I believe we must continue to support our friends and continue to grow this critical relationship. Once again, I thank my colleagues for their support of this resolution and urge Members of the House to support H. Res. 54 to further strengthen the great ties our country has with Argentina.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

In conclusion, let me say that the U.S.-Argentina relationship is critical, and I stand in strong support of H. Res. 54.

Argentina's new President, Mauricio Macri, has done a tremendous job reforming their outdated and isolationist economic policies. Most importantly, the Macri administration has renewed its efforts to find the long sought after justice for the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Cultural Center, whose perpetrators are still evading justice.

His efforts have improved the lives of countless Argentines, and I look forward to working with his government to continue building on the progress we have already made.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and thank them all for their support.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be standing here in strong support of the measure of my very good friend from New Jersey, Mr. Albio Sires. H. Res. 54 is so important. It reaffirms the U.S.-Argentina partnership and recognizes Argentina's economic reforms. As Mr. Royce said, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of Mr. Sires' important resolution.

Up until the recent election of President Macri, Argentina was going in the wrong direction. Since Macri came to office, he has made some tough but much-needed economic reforms. He has shown that Argentina is willing to be engaged in areas of mutual interest to our two countries and expand our bilateral relations. President Macri's commitment to these reforms should be commended.

But he hasn't just shown strong leadership on economic reforms. President Macri has shown strong character and leadership to the rule of law and pursuit of justice. He has done so by announcing his intention to continue to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, AMIA, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Last month, we marked the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which was followed by the 1994 AMIA attack.

It is no secret that the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah was responsible for these attacks; yet, to this day, Mr. Speaker, Iran and Hezbollah have evaded justice.

The United States should support President Macri as he continues his investigation and seeks to hold those responsible accountable to make sure that he can bring them to justice for their deadly terror attacks.

We should also applaud and support his decision to investigate the suspicious circumstances involving the death of the special prosecutor of these cases, Alberto Nisman. Alberto had uncovered links between Hezbollah and these terror attacks, and I would speak with Alberto frequently about these troublesome ties.

Nisman was a good man and a strong supporter of human rights. We must help President Macri and the people of Argentina continue Nisman's work and legacy by bringing those responsible for his death and for those dastardly terrorist attacks to justice.

We can start by signaling to the people of Argentina that we support their government and that we value our bilateral relationship. Passing Mr. Sires' resolution will do just that. We will send that message.

I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Sires' measure.

Mr. Speaker, I briefly want to mention the country of Colombia. Tremendous flooding and mudslides there have taken more than 200 lives. Colombia is in my prayers, the prayers of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and the prayers of all of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 54, which reaffirms America's partnership with Argentina, and applaud the economic reforms undertaken in recent years.

I applaud Ranking Member Sires for his leadership on this issue. Last year, he and I led a congressional delegation to Argentina to see the differences in the country under the new leadership of President Macri and to reextend a hand of friendship of the United States.

Though the previous government followed the path of ruinous economic and foreign policies, I saw new optimism that the new Macri administration would right these wrongs. For example, at the Organization of American States, Argentina has been supportive of the actions of OAS Secretary General Almagro, urging the Venezuelan Government to respect democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

In addition, President Macri is working to find justice for the 1994 AMIA bombing terrorist attack--the largest loss of life from an act of terror in this hemisphere prior to 9/11--and the murder of the AMIA special prosecutor, Alberto Nisman. It is my sincerest hope that he will find the perpetrators and hold them accountable for these heinous acts of terror.

In conclusion, the United States should be very clear that we are thankful for President Macri's courage and willingness to take unpopular but principled positions. I urge the new Trump administration to do all in its power to take the steps outlined in this legislation and advance a deeper bilateral relationship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 54 and commend its authors and cosponsors.

With the new administration of President Macri, I think that there will be a deepening relationship between the United States and Argentina, and this resolution recognizes that. It also encourages the Argentine Government to continue to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, located then in the center of Buenos Aires, and the death of Argentine special prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who died mysteriously 1 day before he was going to submit a report to the Argentine Congress regarding that 1994 bombing.

I think it is apparent that that 1994 bombing was conducted by Iran in cooperation with Hezbollah, and we all want to encourage the Argentine Government to find out whether there was foul play in the death of Alberto Nisman and, if so, who was behind what has all the hallmarks of an assassination designed to prevent that report from being submitted to the Argentine people and Congress.

I commend the authors of this legislation. I urge its adoption.