Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act of 2019

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 615) to provide women and girls safe access to sanitation facilities in refugee camps.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 615, the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act 2019.

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

Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank Ms. Meng and Mr. Zeldin for authoring this important bipartisan measure.

We are facing a devastating refugee crisis around the world right now. Over 25 million people are currently refugees having fled from violence, conflict, and crisis. Many of these people are now living in refugee camps.

And let me be clear, we need a foreign policy that addresses the root causes of this crisis.

So I am pleased we just considered my Global Fragility bill, which works to prevent the kind of conflict and instability that leads to these refugee crises.

The United States also needs to open its doors to more of these families who have fled violence in search of a better life. America should be leading the world to help in relocating these displaced people, so they can find new homes and start anew.

And we need to make sure that when people are living in refugee camps, they are cared for and treated with dignity.

Sadly, far too many women and girls in these camps face danger right now. Bathrooms and shower facilities have often become dangerous places with predators taking advantage of poor lighting to stage attacks.

After facing the trauma of being driven from their homes, women and girls in refugee camps should not have to worry about being sexually assaulted, period.

We need to do what we can to make sure that refugee camps have safe, accessible sanitation facilities for everyone. So I am pleased that we are considering legislation today that works to do just that.

Madam Speaker, with H.R. 615, the State Department, when providing overseas assistance for refugees, will seek to ensure safe access to sanitation facilities, especially for those most vulnerable.

Madam Speaker, this is a good bipartisan bill. I am proud to support it, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in closing, let me say that we are facing a refugee crisis around the world. Wars, violence, instability--millions of people have fled their homes in search of safety.

We need to do what we can to help these people find new homes and start anew. And while they are living in temporary refugee camps, we need to make sure they have the tools to stay safe and healthy.

The Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act of 2019 provides refugee women and girls with safe access to sanitation facilities.

This is one clear, straightforward way we can help those most vulnerable people. It is a good, commonsense bill; I am pleased to support it. And I thank Mr. McCaul as well for his support.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act.

I want to commend my two colleagues from New York, Representatives Meng and Zeldin, and also Chairman Engel for the good work on this bill.

Around the world, conflict and humanitarian disasters are causing unprecedented levels of displacement in places like South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Nigeria, and Venezuela.

Some of these crises have dragged on for years and even decades. Generations of young people are growing up knowing only life in a refugee camp where conditions can be dire, and even dangerous, for women, children, and other vulnerable populations.

In these situations, things as basic as lights and locks can make a difference between safe restrooms and bathing facilities in dangerous environments where refugees are vulnerable to sexual violence and other crimes.

This bill amends the Foreign Relations Act to ensure support for safe sanitation facilities for refugees and displaced persons living in camps around the world.

The U.S. continues to be the largest donor to refugees and displaced persons around the world, and we will continue to lead, while encouraging other countries to step up and do more.

In closing, Madam Speaker, the United States is a leading donor of humanitarian assistance to refugees around the world. Through the work of UNHCR and NGO partners, we are saving millions of lives every day.

This bill does not increase those assistance levels but will help ensure that our funding is put to effective use in protecting the safety and dignity of vulnerable refugees.

Madam Speaker, I want to, again, thank Chairman Engel and Representatives Meng and Zeldin for their leadership, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in gratitude that my bill, H.R. 615, the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act, unanimously passed the House. I thank my colleagues for their support.

I am especially grateful to Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul for their leadership and support of this critical bill to ensure the protection of women and girls.

While refugee camps are intended to serve as a temporary refuge from war, refugees often find that they have been followed by the very violence rise and insecurity that caused them to flee their home countries in the first place. Women and girls, in particular, face high levels of sexual assaults, and the infrastructure of camps fail to protect against these already-vulnerable populations.

Refugee camps around the world don't provide safe and secure access to sanitary facilities, and those that exist are often mixed sex, public, and without locks or well-lit paths.

Many women and girls so fear using the bathroom at night that they develop urinary tract infections, are forced to relieve themselves in their tents, or are unable to change their clothes for weeks.

Refugee camps have failed to provide commonsense solutions to protect refugees from sexual assault in sanitation facilities. This legislation aims to fix that by requiring U.S. refugee funding to prioritize securing restrooms in refugee camps.

I now urge the Senate to take up this commonsense, but critical legislation.