Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I first thank Mr. Lawler for his very, very passionate and articulate defense of our Jewish brethren. It was very, very moving, and I thank him for that.

Mr. Speaker, 42 years ago, my first human rights trip as a Congressman was to the Soviet Union to defend Jews against pernicious anti-Semitism. I never thought, however, that the anti-Semitic hate that I saw in Moscow and Leningrad could ever happen here, but it has. It is happening, and it is escalating.

The bigotry, intolerance, prejudice, and unbridled hatred for Jews and the Nation of Israel exploding on American college campuses today is absolutely disgraceful. It is morally impermissible and illegal that Jewish students are the targets of anti-Semitic hate and violence.

In both word and deed, Hamas is a terrorist organization that commits mass murder of Jews and seeks the evisceration of Israel. Don't believe it? Remember the horrific violence of October 7 and the ongoing ordeal of the hostages, or just read the Hamas Charter of 1988, the blueprint for genocide against Jews, a modern-day Nazi-like final solution.

As co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I thank my good friends and colleagues, Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer, for authoring the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

This important legislation will codify the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism into title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark antidiscrimination law. Schools that receive Federal funds must comply with title VI, and this bill will clarify that the Hamas hatred infecting our campuses must be dealt with as anti-Semitic discrimination that violates civil rights.

Special thanks, Mr. Speaker, to the police, who at great risk to their own personal safety are trying to mitigate the threats to Jewish students.

Mr. Speaker, I rise, along with my colleagues, to convey our deepest sorrow on the passing of our good friend, six-term, New Jersey Congressman, Donald Payne, Jr. of the 10th Congressional District.

We are grateful for his public service, and offer our prayers and condolences to his wife, Beatrice, and their children, Donald III, Jack, and Yvonne.

Like his father before him--Congressman Donald Payne, Sr., who I served with and who was also a great man--Donald Jr. was a dedicated public servant who tirelessly and tenaciously worked to improve the lives of New Jersey families, especially the poor.

He was a kind and compassionate lawmaker who cared deeply for the people of his district, our State, the country, those in need, and especially the sick.

As a diabetic, he fought to lower the cost of insulin. He wrote the House-passed Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act and the Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act to provide full coverage for PAD to help reduce amputations.

His TEST for Lead Act was designed to protect children from lead- contaminated drinking water in schools, and he wrote the DHS Interoperable Communications Act that became law in July 2015.

As chairman and then ranking member of the House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, Donald helped lead the charge to improve America's transportation infrastructure, played a key role in securing the Gateway project, and was a powerful ally of Amtrak.

Donald Payne served two terms on the Newark City Council, including as president, and beginning in 2005, three terms as an Essex County freeholder, which we now call county commissioner. Donald Payne, Jr. will be deeply missed.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) for any comments he may have.

Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone to join us in a moment of silent prayer for our deceased colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, a bill whose passage is essential to our national security.

By far and away, the greatest threat to world peace since the fall of the Soviet Union is a Communist China that seeks to displace the United States as global hegemon, while nursing historical grievances over past humiliations by nations of the West.

The People's Republic of China is not simply a strategic rival of the United States, but a systemic one, which seeks to rewrite the entire rules-based international order and recreate it in its own image.

To that end, it has targeted Taiwan, known formally as the Republic of China.

The strategic importance of Taiwan in countering the Chinese Communist Party's hegemonistic ambitions cannot be overstated. It is the anchor of the first island chain, stretching from Japan to the Philippines, and it is a major economic and trade power in its own right. It dominates the semiconductor supply chain, integral to our economic and security well-being.

But more than that, it is a beacon of hope for the Chinese people, a bastion of democracy and freedom and a rebuke to the narrative of Xi Jinping and the CCP that the Chinese tradition is inimical to democracy and human rights.

Taiwan, like Israel, is an absolutely key strategic ally in a dangerous part of the world. To keep the peace, we must ensure that it has the arms necessary to defend itself, and we must stand by it against any cross-Strait aggression.

Congress' commitment to Taiwan is longstanding, and it is important that we reaffirm that today, so as to underscore to the regime on the Chinese mainland that there is can be no doubt or ambiguity--strategic or otherwise--regarding that commitment.

As the bedrock Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 clearly stated, we are committed to resisting ``any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people in Taiwan.

Ronald Reagan constantly and consistently stated that we achieve ``Peace through strength.''

It is that strength--and the willingness to resort to force of arms-- that keeps the peace, paradoxical as that may seem to some.

Towards that end, we need to be prepared. That is why I in the House and Marco Rubio in the Senate introduced the Taiwan Protection and National Resilience Act, first in 2022 and then again in this Congress. That bill calls for a strategy to counter any coercive action by Communist China towards Taiwan.

It is why I introduced an amendment to last year's NDAA which called for assisting Taiwan in developing an asymmetric naval self-defense capability, enhanced by small, high speed, long-range, extreme-weather- capable, reduced-radar-signature boats.

Another idea whose time has come is developing a technology security alliance with Taiwan and our other allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea. We would create a trade network that provides a realistic alternative to China, providing a shield against any coercion by China. Former Taiwan Legislative Yuan member Jason Hsu has championed that idea, and it is a good one.

Finally, there is a backlog in sending weapons and ordnance to Taiwan, some $19 billion worth, due to our commitments elsewhere, and due to bureaucratic and production bottlenecks. Co-production--the building of weapons in Taiwan, under contract, from drones to small boats to missiles--is something that needs to be done, so that Taiwan can deter mainland aggression.

Let us unequivocally state: we stand with the people of Taiwan, and our Indo-Pacific allies.

I will vote in favor of H.R. 8036 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, the United States must make absolutely clear in both word and deed, not just today but every day, and without equivocation that we stand with Israel.

Both defensive weapons systems like Iron Dome and David's Sling and all necessary offensive military capabilities must be conveyed without delay to Israel for as long as it takes to defeat Hamas and deter Iran, Hezbollah, and other radical Islamists.

Of significance, H.R. 8034 prohibits aid to Gaza from flowing through UNRWA, an anti-Semitic and disgraceful organization that teaches Palestinian children to hate Jews and glorifies suicidal martyrdom and the evisceration of Israel as a state.

UNRWA is a child soldier factory that we have funded for decades. Twenty-one years ago on this floor, in 2003, I offered an amendment that passed the House to defund UNRWA. The Senate never acted. A few weeks ago, the Foreign Affairs Committee passed my bill to stop UNRWA funding.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for bringing this bill to the floor. It defunds UNRWA.

Israel has an absolute right to exist free from aggression and anti- Semitic hate.

Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate and commend the athletes, managers, staff members and outstanding fans of the Manasquan High School Big Blue Warriors' Basketball Program.

The 2023-2024 season had moments of great excitement and profound heartbreak, but there is no doubt that both the boys and girls teams demonstrated true grit and sportsmanship to the delight of sports fans across the Garden State--and perhaps the entire country.

First, let me congratulate the members of Manasquan's girls Group 2 state-wide championship team In a rout, on March 9th the Warriors defeated Madison with a nearly 2-1 victory of 47-26.

Coach Lisa Kukoda led her fiery squad to the championship title with the Warrior team after wrapping up a tremendous 26-5 wins over losses on the season.

Likewise, the boys team, under the leadership of Coach Andrew Bilodeau, had a tremendous win-loss record on the season--finishing with 23 wins to 7 losses.

The players on both teams displayed talent, dedication, tenacity, skill and the hearts of champions.

But this year the boys team was challenged to go to the highest levels of sportsmanship, humility and grace--and they met the challenge.

Despite clear and compelling video evidence proving the timeliness of a Warrior's game-winning shot--at the buzzer in the semi-finals--the refs reversed their call and gave the game away. Ultimately, they denied the Warriors their rightful advancement to the state finals--an unbelievable turn of events.

At some point in his or her career, every athlete must wrestle with the agony of defeat. Few, however, are called upon to deal with a blown call that crowns a wrongful winner in the semi-finals.

Today, no one believes that Manasquan lost that game. Yet when the powers that be refused to right the wrong, the Manasquan Warriors remained unfairly ``boxed out'' of their rightful victory.

Especially worthy of note is this team's actions at the subsequent championship competition later that week

Despite the great disappointment and emotion from players, family, fans and the community that the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) would not overturn what it acknowledged as an officiating error, Coach Bilodeau and his persevering Warriors attended the state finals game, showing the highest character and class. They congratulated Camden High--the inadvertent benefactors of the officiating miscue--and gave them a standing ovation upon their victory in the championship game.

Such civility and strength of character is deeply admired, and it will serve these Warriors well in any and every future endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, I believe I speak for all of my constituents in Manasquan when I say that we could not be prouder of the way both the girls and boys teams acted on and off the courts. To have both teams in the playoffs in the same year, in the same sport, in the same final days offered spectacular and legendary memories for fans and players alike.

The Manasquan boys team's handling of the costly and admitted referees' error was remarkable and admirable. Still, reforms are needed at the NJSIAA who issued an apology but offered no justice.

I strongly support the efforts at the state level, including by my good friend and Manasquan's Assemblyman Sean Kean, to help maintain the integrity of high school sports.

Assemblyman Kean's legislation aims to prevent a similar situation from occurring again by prompting the use of instant replay in NJ playoff tournament basketball games. The National Federation of High School Sports guidelines allow state high school associations to use video replay during basketball championships. States other than NJ have done so since 2015.

Mr. Speaker, both the Manasquan High School girls and boys teams give us reason to celebrate their achievements. Well done to all of the players, coaches and managers who make us proud.

The 2023-2024 Manasquan High School Girls Basketball Varsity Program Members:

Players Katie Collins, McKenna Karlson, Carlie Lapinski, Hope Masonius, Shea Donnelly, Shannon Heine, Grace Love, Olivia Shaughnessy, Ava Frith, Jordyn Hollawell, Lily Johnson, Shannon Looney, Logan McCarthy, Rose Latesta, Managers Kristina Walthall, Juliann Martell, Kylie Rothery, Kathy Minchala-Ramirez, Paige Donnelly, Caroline Watson, Findleigh Tuite, Head Coach Lisa Kukoda; Assistant Coaches Keara Homan, Rich Kirk, Sarah Kurtz, Joe Roman, Bill Shaughnessy.

The 2023-2024 Manasquan High School Boys Basketball Varsity Program Members.

Players Ryan Frauenheim, Alex Konov, Jason Larned, Ryan Mulvaney, Luke Roy, Mike Nitta, Julian Walthall, Dan McManus, Griffin Linstra, Matteo Chiarella, Brandon Kunz, Keegan Hertel, Jack O'Reilly, Jack Lattimer, Logan Cleveland, Rey Weinseimer, Managers Rylie Eldridge, Sophia Bilodeau, Reagan Prime, Lily McKiever, Charlotte Michko, Head Coach Andrew Bilodeau, Assistant Coaches Ryan Ritchey, Colin Eldridge, Sean Fitzgerald, Ed Breheny, Jack Heenan, Bob Wright.

Under the direction of Manasquan Superintendent of Schools Dr Frank Kasyan, High School Principal Robert Goodall, Athletic Director Donald Bramley, and Athletic Trainer Kevin Hyland.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by our colleagues Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi.

It is aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to sway public opinion in its favor--especially that of the younger generation--through the use of the social media app TikTok, as well as to counter the use of the app to collect data on Americans.

Indeed, just this last week we saw a real time demonstration of the insidious use of TikTok: the targeting of American children with Communist Party propaganda--during school hours--and the recruiting of minors to act unwittingly as foreign agents of the Chinese Communist Party.

On March 7, members of Congress--including me--were inundated with a phone call advocacy campaign that utilized children while we were debating the efforts of the CCP to sabotage the American economy. And the CCP connection with TikTok and its Chinese parent is something that is very tangible.

TikTok's parent ByteDance, headquartered in Bejing, is compelled to participate in a strategic partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Indeed, under China's Cybersecurity Law, companies are required to provide any information asked for to police or intelligence agencies. One former ByteDance official, Yintao Yu, has said that the CCP has access to all the company's data--including data stored in the U.S.

Indeed TikTok has conceded as much--just look at the company's privacy policy, which says it can share user data with ByteDance and various governments around the world if required: ``We may disclose any of the Information we collect to respond to . . . government inquires,'' as well as to ``comply with any applicable law.''

We also know that the CCP has punished executives and companies that do not tow the Party line--just ask Jack Ma, one of the richest men in the world, what happens when you buck the Party.

Indeed, ByteDance, like many Chinese companies, has an internal Communist Party Committee within its corporate structure, which is led by ByteDance Vice President Zhang Fuping.

So what is TikTok's response to all this?

After being deluged with phone calls in my office, that very day, I wrote to TikTok, at their American headquarters in Culver City, California, asking them to provide all internal documentation relating to the ``genesis, approval and execution of the advocacy campaign initiated by TikTok on March 7,'' so that Congress may determine the role of the CCP in recruiting children to lobby Congress on its behalf. Four days later, TikTok Vice President for Public Policy Michael Beckerman responded, with piratical defiance, claiming that congressional interest in this issue was ``offensive'' and ``patently false.''

Really? You don't think that this is an issue that is in the national interest?

We shall see about that.

I will vote in favor of H.R. 7521 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I would like to express my strong support for the Uyghur Policy Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

But more than expressing strong support for this necessary piece of legislation, all of us

must continue to show strong support for the oppressed people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and beyond.

This bill supplements both the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, passed in the last Congress, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, for which I was the lead Republican cosponsor.

It is important that we call what the government of the People's Republic of China is doing to the Uyghurs by what it is--genocide. The bill does just that.

The bill also would create a special coordinator for Uyghur issues at the State Department--something that I have long advocated for and tried to pass, for a special envoy really. Such a focus is particularly necessary, given the amount of repression directed by the Chinese Communist Party at the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim Central Asian people, including the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz.

Make no mistake, this is Xi Jinping's genocide; he is directly responsible for this.

We know that there are recordings of him saying, ``show no mercy,'' as people are being dragged into concentration camps. Forced abortion, forced sterilization, and a whole host of human rights abuses are being committed right up to this very moment.

We must not allow Xi Jinping to whitewash his crimes.

We cannot allow U.S. businesses and business leaders to subsidize his genocide.

This bill keeps the spotlight on one of this century's greatest crimes and I urge my colleagues to give it their strongest support.

Madam Speaker, I speak in strong support of H.R. 533, which would amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002.

This bill was introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern, House ranking member on the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which I chair, along with Chairman McCaul. I am proud to be listed among the many cosponsors.

Tibet and the Tibetan people face new and ever worsening challenges from the Chinese Communist Party's repressive rule. After decades of unspeakable cruelty by the Chinese Communist Party against Tibetans, we are seeing an increase that is occurring and an effort that looks just like genocide.

Threats to Tibetan linguistic, religious, and cultural heritage have expanded exponentially in recent years, and now an estimated 80 percent of all children in the Tibet Autonomous Region are separated from their families and educated in a massive system of colonial boarding schools--separating them from parents and indoctrinating and brainwashing them each and every day.

In recent years, Chinese police in Tibet have conducted mass DNA collection and iris scanning programs in wide swaths of Tibetan society, including in monasteries and primary schools, a sinister endeavor to harvest biometric data and one which implicated an American company, Thermo Fisher Scientific.

While, thanks to pressure from many, including our commission, Thermo Fisher has announced it will cease cooperation in this area, though they still do business in China that is problematic. We need to drive home the message to American businesses: Stop cooperating with a brutal regime and stop subsidizing tyranny.

Amid these threats to Tibetans in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party also seeks to extend its repressive reach abroad, targeting for surveillance and harassment Tibetan diaspora communities in the United States, India, and Nepal.

The Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in crimes against humanity in Tibet and against Tibetans, plain and simple. I have chaired multiple hearings with my good friend and colleague, Mr. McGovern, at the Lantos Commission and at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, including one in March of last year, called ``Preserving Tibet: Combating Cultural Erasure, Forced Assimilation and Transnational Repression,'' which featured the Sikyong, the head of Tibet's government in exile, as well as Richard Gere, who is a passionate and amazingly articulate advocate for Tibet.

This bill authorizes the State Department to take action to counter Chinese Communist propaganda directed against Tibet and its history and its institutions. For that reason alone, it ought to be strongly supported.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend Mr. Lawler for authoring the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, which amends the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 to apply its provisions also to international governmental organizations.

When this bill becomes law, it will prevent U.S. companies from supporting boycotts of U.S. allies if those boycotts are promoted or imposed by intergovernmental organizations.

What is at issue here are boycotts of Israel organized by the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement, has enlisted the United Nations and European Union into its attempt to blacklist Israel--really to make Israel into a pariah state.

I thank Mr. Lawler as this bill will be a very effective tool in the global fight against antisemitism.

As to the UN's blacklist, meant to be an authoritative guide to anti- Israel boycotters, it lists companies operating inside disputed territories--but the UN provides no similar list for any other disputed territory in the world. This is a clear double standard against Israel--it fails Natan Sharansky's ``3Ds'' test according to which we can see the antisemitism of actions toward Israel that apply a double standard against Israel, seek to delegitimize it, or demonize it.

In the last 9 months I have chaired or co-chaired three hearings on the United Nations and its pervasive antisemitism. We have heard the testimony and seen the documentation. Make no mistake, antisemitic bigotry is at the root of the UN's hostility to Israel, which is ugly, evil, and manifests in almost every UN entity.

The United Nations is unquestionably the world's foremost legitimizer of antisemitism, including in its most virulent and violent forms. The monstrous and genocidal atrocities we have seen pouring out of Gaza since October 7 are antisemitic hate crimes, the logical consequence of the unbridled antisemitism fomented and enabled by the United Nations.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5856) to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes, 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 extraneous material on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, more than 20 years ago, the U.S. Congress approved and the President signed historic legislation that I authored known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, a comprehensive, whole-of- government initiative to combat sex and labor trafficking in the United States and around the world.

The TVPA created a bold, new domestic and international antihuman trafficking strategy and established numerous new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and to the extent possible, prevent human trafficking in the first place--what we call the three Ps.

Though it is hard to believe now, the TVPA was met with a wall of skepticism and opposition--dismissed by

many as a solution in search of a problem. For most people at that time, including some lawmakers, the term ``trafficking'' applied almost exclusively to drugs and weapons, not to human beings.

Reports of vulnerable persons, especially women and children, being reduced to commodities for sale were often met with surprise, incredulity, or indifference.

The bill was finally signed into law on October 28, 2000, and within a year after enactment, no one was arguing anymore that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's integrated 3Ps strategy--prevention, protection for victims, and prosecution of the traffickers--was flawed, unworkable, unnecessary, or counterproductive.

The TVPA included several sea change criminal code reforms, including treating as a victim--and not a perpetrator of a crime--anyone exploited by a commercial sex act who had not attained the age of 18 and anyone older where there was an element of force, fraud, or coercion.

The TVPA radically reformed the U.S. criminal code to authorize asset confiscation, as well as jail sentences of up to life imprisonment.

Thousands of human traffickers have been prosecuted and jailed pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, including--although he never came to trial--all charges brought against Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking more than doubled from 2011 to 2021-- from 729 persons to 1,672 persons, respectively.

Among its many provisions, the Act also created the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office, and the annual TIP Report. I encourage my colleagues to look at it and read it, at least when they are traveling, especially, or meeting with delegations from other countries. Read the TIP Report and find out where that country that you are going to visit or whose lawmakers or diplomats you are going to meet, where they stand in terms of what they are doing with regards to trafficking.

It also calls for serious and sustained efforts to eliminate human trafficking. If they don't, and if they have a really horrific record, they get put on Tier 3 for egregious violators, and they are subject to sanctions.

Over the years, I have authored four additional laws, including in 2003, 2005, 2016--that was the International Megan's Law--and in 2019, Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act. We are reauthorizing that and the underlying TVPA today.

Today, the House considers a 5-year reauthorization named after and in honor of the great abolitionist and civil rights leader, Frederick Douglass.

Special thanks are in order to our original cosponsors, including Chairman McCaul; subcommittee Ranking Member Susan Wild; as well as Kathy Manning, who is managing over on the Democratic side tonight; Ann Wagner; Henry Cuellar; Joe Wilson; Amata Radewagen; and Michael Burgess, all original cosponsors of the bill.

A special thank you to the extraordinarily talented staffers, including Mary Vigil, to my left, who did an amazing job on this; Janice Kaguyutan; Mary Noonan; Doug Anderson; and survivors Bella Hanoukey and Robert Lung, who also provided tremendous insight.

A heartfelt thanks to the over 20 organizations that have provided insight, recommendations, and have endorsed this legislation.

Terry FitzPatrick, for example, the director of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, a consortium of various groups, has said on behalf of them: The U.S. has the world's most comprehensive governmental effort to fight human trafficking, and this law is the reason why. It is the blueprint for comprehensive action at home and abroad. Updating and reauthorizing the act is essential to maintaining America's leadership.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly endorsed the legislation and asked Congress to approve the measure ``without further delay.'' Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso stated: We must unite to identify and address conditions that lead to human trafficking and promote efforts to prevent it.

A great big thank you to Kenneth Morris. This man is the great-great- great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington. He runs a group called Family Initiatives, and he has been such a great source and inspiration for this legislation.

He has said that this legislation, named after his ancestor, emphasizes education and resilience as an effective means to prevent human trafficking among children, prevent retrafficking of survivors, and provide support and hope to survivors in their journeys toward self-empowerment.

Mr. Morris goes on to say: In the words of my great-great-great grandfather and the great American abolitionist Fred Douglass: Enslavement is a scourge on humanity. To expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death. Expose slavery, he goes on to say, and it dies.

He goes on to say: This wisdom is in the form of human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery. Since 2008, he points out that they have helped and trained 60,000 adults and 500,000 children in the skills of keeping themselves safe from harm.

This legislation has provisions in it to make our young people situationally aware, from elementary and secondary school, so that everyone knows what the traffickers do, how horrible their schemes are, their nefarious organizations, what they do with drugs, and other ways of enticing young people. The next thing you know, they are trafficked and are in modern-day slavery.

Let me also point out that the bill seeks to promote, as I said, situational awareness. It also authorizes survivors' employment, housing, and education programs. It authorizes a program for housing. One of the things we find is that when a woman or a man--most are women--are liberated, where do they go? They need help. We do have programs in existence. This will redirect some of those funds to help them get a house, a home, so that they are less likely and less vulnerable to being retrafficked.

It makes scalable programs through training of the trainers, in collaboration with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It encourages the usage of prevention efforts to include accessible, age- appropriate, and trauma-informed approaches for USAID beneficiaries and further incorporates counter-trafficking efforts across our development portfolio.

We know for a fact that it is a problem in developing countries, where sometimes even the peacekeepers engage. I had hearings and worked on it. There was another one the other day that John James chaired about peacekeepers, the fact that sometimes they become the ones who engage in trafficking and abuse young people.

It streamlines statutory language for the Tier 2 Watch List and reauthorizes the Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

There is also language in it about organ harvesting. Last March, we passed legislation to really combat this horrible organ harvesting debacle where, especially in China, they are killing 28-year-olds, the average age, whether it be Falun Gong or Uyghurs, to steal their hearts, lungs, and livers, especially livers. Unfortunately, it is a big business for the Chinese Communist Party, so we put language in this that will be part of the TIP report.

It also reauthorizes the International Megan's Law. What is that? Back in 1994, a little girl who used to be in my district, Hamilton Township, New Jersey, was killed by a convicted pedophile who was out of prison and lived across the street, who buried her after horribly abusing her.

Every one of our States has a Megan's law, and they work really well. We found that many of the convicted pedophiles get a passport and travel in child sex tourism.

I wrote a law that took 8 years to get passed. Three times it passed in the House. The Senate did not want to hear about it, but it finally got passed. That said a number of things, including before they travel, these individuals have

to register with the U.S. Government, and we inform the country of destination that they soon will be coming. If they want to say no, you can't come in, that is exactly what happens; they don't get to go to that country.

It is run by the Angel Watch Center. They do a magnificent job and I thank them. The law is working. According to Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, the U.S. Government has notified foreign governments of the planned travel of 27,679 covered sex offenders, and it has not been in effect that long. As of late January, 9,489 individuals convicted of sex crimes against children were denied entry into those nations.

We have taken the secrecy out of traveling, to some extent, and these countries are empowered to say: Look who is coming. You are not getting in to abuse our children.

We also put language in it that allows for stamping the passport to make sure that if they do lie and they get in, it is on the passport that they are a covered sex offender.

Mr. Speaker, I have much more to say, but I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, November 29, 2023.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 5856, the

Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and

Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023. Provisions of this

bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X

jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on

those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it

shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so

that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

The Committee takes this action with the understanding that

forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in

any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any

future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their

subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment

of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a

conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar

legislation.

I ask that you please include this letter in your

committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert

this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration

of H.R. 5856 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative

manner in which our committees have worked on this matter,

and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future

on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your

attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jim Jordan,

Chairman.

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

I thank my good friend and colleague for her efforts. We have worked together on so many human rights issues, including combating anti- Semitism and other important human rights issues and trafficking. She was a star when we had our hearings on this. I thank her for her eloquent defense of the victims, as well as trying to stop the perpetrators of these horrible crimes.

At a congressional hearing--one of the ones I was talking about just now with my good friend and colleague--that I chaired last May, a woman by the name of Gina Cavallo, an amazing, courageous woman from my home State of New Jersey, told us how she suffered unspeakable violence, including rape, beatings, coercive drug abuse, and other torture as her traffickers sold her like a commodity from one buyer to another.

This is only a part of her testimony, but it goes right to the heart of what we are talking about. She testified: ``It is so critical that survivors are heard.'' She said that the Frederick Douglass Act is a result of listening. We listened to her and other human trafficking victims, and much of what we have here tonight has been informed by their insights.

Gina Cavallo told us that she is a survivor of domestic violence and childhood abuse.

That experience as a child led me to a place where I felt

ashamed, unloved, and rejected. It also led me to being

trafficked.

Force, fraud, and coercion were all used by someone who

pretended to be my friend but ultimately abducted me into

being trafficked. For nearly 2 years from the age of 18, I

was prostituted and sold to the highest bidder and raped over

and over again.

My identity was taken, as I was given a new name. Sleep

deprivation, threats of violence, pornography, drugs, and

food were all used as punishment and reward, leading to my

traffickers taking psychological control over me.

Does this sound like anything that a young person dreams of for their future? Being stripped and robbed of your mind and body, your humanity, your dignity, and respect?

She goes on to say:

I became a commodity to be used for others' gain. But I

often blamed myself for my situation because I believed it

was my fault.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard this. I know my good friend, Karen, has heard this, as well as other Members in this Chamber. So often the trafficking victims say: Oh, it is my fault.

It is not. They have been coerced, deceived, and drugged often into this terrible, terrible trafficking situation.

She goes on to say:

As a victim, I was taught to distrust family and friends,

and, especially, law enforcement. The more they isolated me,

the more fear I felt and the more control they gained, which

is very intentional.

It took decades for me to identify that I was a victim. I

learned through counseling and by my continuous healing

journey that what happened to me wasn't my fault.

As a victim, I was left with a lifetime sentence: ruined

relationships, addiction, hospital visits, suicide attempts,

lack of jobs and education--and also left with shame and

fear.

In her testimony, Gina said:

But what you especially can do as lawmakers is to ensure

that in every aspect of your work to end trafficking that you

put forward measures mandating widespread survivor-informed

and trauma-informed training.

She goes on:

We need to create a safer country where people can come

forward without stigma to reveal their experiences. No one

should feel the double victimization of being trafficked, as

well as feeling that they stay silent because of shame, fear,

and not feeling safe.

Today, Gina is a brave survivor with an indomitable spirit. She works in coalitions, including the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking and others, and she speaks to many school assemblies.

Mr. Speaker, believe me, when she speaks, those students listen.

In writing the Frederick Douglass Act, we listened to her and others, and we were moved. Of course, it helped us get it right. Again, that situational training is at the core of this particular bill to educate our young people.

I say to all my colleagues that there are curricula out there, and the Frederick Douglass Foundation has curricula. Go to your schools and go to your police departments and say: Please, will you take a look at this and have a day or two or more of training so that the young people of elementary and secondary age, and it also applies to college and higher education, that they know how to defend themselves, and if they see a friend at risk to intervene quickly before the traffickers get them on drugs and hurt them and hurt them severely.

Mr. Speaker, I see we are pretty much out of time, so I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.

``One of the most important things I tell fellow survivors

is, `You are not alone,' '' said Judge Robert Lung, former

Chair of the US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. ``The

TVPRA is your opportunity to tell survivors, `You are not

alone, you matter and Congress cares.' Those may be the most

life changing and important words spoken in this legislative

session. May God continue to bless Congress.''

``I am proud of Congressman Smith and his staff for

drafting H.R. 5856, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking

Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of

2023,'' said Bella Hounakey, survivor leader, expert and

member of US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. ``I feel

very empowered and I am convinced that while I can't make a

difference alone, I'm renewed and rejoice that there are

organizations and politicians like Mr. Smith who are running

towards survivors, instead of away from them. H.R. 5856 would

continue to give voice and space for ethical storytelling to

ensure that the public is well informed and prepared to act,

and that survivors deserve our undivided attention and

support. H.R. 5856 would allow survivors to develop their--

our narrative, one that is tailored to the unique needs and

sensitivities of our community while continuing to fight

trafficking in all its forms.''

``The Frederick Douglass TVPRA of 2023 is essential for

maintaining and improving the US response to the heinous

crime of human trafficking. As a country we mustn't slow down

the critical work we're doing to punish criminals and ensure

that those victimized are given access to support and

justice.''--Gina Cavallo, Survivor Consultant for New Jersey

Coalition Against Human Trafficking

``Human trafficking is a heinous crime that robs

individuals of their dignity, freedom, and basic human

rights,'' said Ashlie Bryant, CEO, 3Strands Global

Foundation. ``The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims

Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 is a

critical step in our ongoing efforts to combat modern

slavery. By reauthorizing and strengthening the Trafficking

Victims Protection Act of 2000, we reaffirm our commitment to

preventing trafficking, protecting survivors, and prosecuting

perpetrators. This legislation underscores the importance of

comprehensive, coordinated efforts to address trafficking

both domestically and internationally, reflecting our

collective responsibility to uphold human dignity and ensure

justice for all.''

``In 2000, Congress passed the groundbreaking Trafficking

Victims Protection Act (TVPA)--the first comprehensive

federal law to address human trafficking,'' said Sharon Payt,

Vice President of US Corporate and Government Partnerships,

International Justice Mission. ``In the over two decades

since, the anti-trafficking movement has expanded and

strengthened with continued, bipartisan leadership from

Congress and the US government, including formation of the

State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking

in Persons. Reauthorizing the TVPA is an important signal to

our global neighbors that the US government remains committed

to ending human trafficking. IJM is grateful to Congressman

Chris Smith for his persistent dedication to this crucial

issue.''

``The US has the world's most comprehensive governmental

effort to fight human trafficking, and this law is the reason

why,'' said Terry FitzPatrick, Director, Alliance to End

Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST). ``It's the blueprint for

comprehensive action at home and abroad. Updating and

reauthorizing the act is essential to maintaining America's

leadership.''

``Hope for Justice supports the TVPA because of the robust

opportunities it provides trafficking survivors to reenter

society in a meaningful and deserved way. As a global

organization, we are particularly thrilled with the section

that addresses fighting human trafficking abroad that would

allow for increased opportunity for grant funding, and

expansion of prevention efforts internationally. We have seen

immense results from our programs globally, and this bill

will help organizations like ours continue to impact

survivors worldwide. This horrific criminal enterprise has

left so many survivors in its wake, and it's time we give

them the support they deserve to flourish as they heal.''--

Sarah Butler, U.S. Program Director, Hope for Justice

``The Frederick Douglass TVPA's Employment and Education

Program stands as a

proven testament to the transformative impact of second

chances for trafficking survivors. With provisions for job

training, education, expungement assistance, scholarships,

and case management, this initiative stands to positively

shape the lives, families, and communities of survivors by

offering hope and opportunity after the trauma of human

trafficking.''--Tasha Kennard, CEO, Thistle Farms

``Empowering our educators and equipping our youth with the

tools to recognize and prevent human trafficking,

exploitation, and abuse is not just a moral imperative; it's

a strategic necessity. The Frederick Douglass TVPA bill

provides vital resources through grants for prevention

education, enabling the frontlines of our education system to

get ahead of trafficking before it ensnares another innocent

life. This is why The Foundation United is dedicated to this

effort and why we vehemently support this bill. Prevention is

the only way to get upstream and eradicate this grave human

rights violation.''--Elizabeth Fisher Good, CEO, The

Foundation United

``The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection

Reauthorization Act is a flagship piece of human rights

legislation, and one that is critical to combat the scourge

and horror of human trafficking. Every man, woman, and child

is made in the image of God, and every effort to compel or

coerce someone into labor or commercial sex is an

abomination. The dark underbelly of this global illness must

be brought into the light and exposed, so that justice can be

applied. It is imperative that the United States be a part of

the solution in this area, not the problem.''--Travis Weber,

Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, Family

Research Council

``Congressman Smith's TVPA has shaped the domestic and

international anti-trafficking landscape since 2000 creating

empowering programs for survivors and strengthening efforts

to prosecute traffickers. Since 2018 his law has been named

after my ancestor, Frederick Douglass, thereby emphasizing

education and resilience as effective means to prevent human

trafficking among children, prevent re-trafficking of

survivors, and provide support and hope to survivors in their

journeys toward self-empowerment.

In the words of my great-great-great grandfather and the

great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass--enslavement

is a scourge on humanity that ``to expose it is to kill it.

Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the

light of truth is death. Expose slavery, and it dies.''

This wisdom holds to today in the form of human

trafficking, the modern-day slavery. Since 2008 we have

provided anti-trafficking education programming and trained

more than 60,000 adults and over 500,000 children teaching

them to be aware of human trafficking and learn the skills to

keep themselves safe from harm.

It is after all ``easier to build strong children than to

repair broken men.'' Passage of the Smith/Wild bill will

allow us and many other organizations to continue the

necessary work of combatting human trafficking and honoring

the lives of so many effected by it in the U.S. and abroad.''

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his tremendous leadership on this and so many other important issues, including life issues. I thank Michelle Fischbach for her brave and courageous leadership, and our Speaker for making sure that this legislation got to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, at a New Jersey pregnancy resource center dinner, two women, through tears of joy, expressed their deep and abiding gratitude for the incredible love, respect, and care that persuaded them to reverse their decision to abort their babies. They spoke about how desperate they were, even hopeless. They spoke of the pressure that they felt to abort, until they met the director of the pregnancy resource center, who reached out to both of them in a gentle and nonjudgmental way.

They chose life, and thanked God, the director, and the pregnancy resource center for helping them to avert the loss of their babies' lives.

Then, two teenaged girls took to the podium and spoke about their lives--school, sports, friends--and their reverence for the sanctity of all human life. Near the end of their remarks--I didn't see this coming nor did many people in the room--they turned toward the director of the center and thanked her for being there for their moms through those difficult times and said: If you weren't there for them, we would be dead. Two wonderful young women talking about how without the pregnancy center, they would have been dead.

There are more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers throughout the United States. Each and every one of them is an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care for both mothers and their precious children.

Americans agree with the noble work of pregnancy care centers. The new Marist national poll, released just yesterday, found that 83 percent of all Americans, including 75 percent of Democrats, support--I say again support--pregnancy resource centers.

There is a growing number of people throughout this country in this great human rights movement who really protect the unborn child and their mothers and stand with women and their children. We reject the violence of abortion, dismemberment, child beheadings, and abortion pills.

How does the pill work? It literally starves the baby to death. That is how they die; they starve to death.

Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach's legislation prohibits Biden's new policy proposal that discriminates against pregnancy resource centers. The bill, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act ensures that pregnancy resource centers cannot be excluded or restricted from receiving TANF funding as proposed by the rule that is being pushed by the President.

The Biden administration and some Governors and lawmakers continue, Mr. Speaker, to smear and misrepresent the noble work of pregnancy resource centers. We can't allow that to happen.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, January 14, 2024, high school students, troupe members of New Jersey Thespians, will be honored for their leadership and contributions to a statewide program designed to help those facing food insecurity in our state.

Their charitable efforts are part of a program known as Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat, a community service venture in which students participate statewide to make a difference and help their neighbors in need. In just one month, October 2023, this humanitarian effort collected over 8,953 pounds of food. Eleven New Jersey schools with 255 Thespians participated, including four from the Fourth Congressional District of New Jersey: Toms River North, Manasquan and Brick high schools, and Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy, all of which will be honored at a closing ceremony at Robbinsville High School.

I note that Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat had been previously run by the Educational Theatre Association before being discontinued in 2018. However, the students and adults that make up the New Jersey Thespians State Board saw the value and impact of the program, stepped up and revived the 2018 effort into the program that we now honor. As part of the program, theater students collect canned and dry goods from their neighbors and friends to then be delivered to local charities and food banks.

New Jersey Thespians serves as a leading honor society of the arts, holding a festival each year for high school students in January and a festival for junior high students in May in the Garden State. New Jersey has one of the fastest-growing Junior Thespian chapters in the country, doubling in membership in each of the last two years. New Jersey also has both high school and junior high Thespian officers who participate in events locally, regionally, and nationally.

Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 7455, based out of Toms River High School North who collected over 450 pounds of food for one of the largest food bank organizations in the state, Fulfill of Monmouth and Ocean Counties:

Alexa De Los Santos, Allyson Olivera, Bailey Terrett, Betania Esparza, Brianna Fredella, Darlene Penn, Delaney Koovits, Elizabeth Diamond, Emma York, Faith Moreno, Gage Alburger, Hannah Kemp, Joey Beatty, Joey Scholz, Jose Padilla, Kara Kube, Kayla Fredericks, Kelly Nide, Leah Hugo, Levi Dudek,

Liam Ryan, Lillyanne Smith, Lucas Maciel, Madison McPhee, Mars Byles, Mycah Subai, Peyton Mendes, Riley Poll, Saniya Williams, Yazmin Beita, Zachary Menth and Danielle Brooks; as well as their advisor, Dr. Michael Penna.

Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 6185, based out of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy in Toms River, N. J., whose students have collected 514 pounds of food for the Beachwood Thanksgiving Food Drive:

Emily Altomare, Joshua Arneth, Enrique Bartolo, Zel Bollard, Ava Brierley, Christopher Castaneda, Colin Chaplin, Noelle Coburn, Lluvia Cohen, Adeon-Ethan Congdon, Catherine Cullen, Brooke DeFazio, Paige Derco, Lana Dubrow, Mia Dungan, Haley East, Julia Emer, Miley Ferriolo, Zoe Frantz, Keira Gabbai, Sophie Gabriel, Ariana Gallagher, Cassandra Gariepy, Jose Gonzalez, Irene Gross, Susan Guida, Gracie Hammel, Kenneth Hankins, Lauren Harry, Allyson Hovance, Riley Hubert, Maya Jackson, Alani Jasinski, Zoey Jastrzebski, Saturn Johnson, Keira Kennis, Alexis Kinsey, Joseph LaManna, Olivia Linton, Raine Lopez, Samantha Martinez, Dakota Mason, Mia Matviiv, Gabrielle McColley, Madelynn McDevitt, Maci McNeil, Regina Messenger, Gianna Minardi, Riley Paluszak, Molly Pease, Jordan Perucki, Alexandra Reed, Benjamin Ricker, Victoria Roberts, Tayden Rock, Hannah Rowley, Cali Scott, Andrew Shuberda, Kristin Uphold, Isabella Vitello, Samantha Voss, Katie Wallace, Christina Watrous, Mia Whalen, Kai Williams, Ella Ytterberg and Aronas Zajan; as well as their Troupe Directors Carolyn Little and Joseph Puliafico.

Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 3411, based out of Brick Memorial High School, whose students collected 414 pounds of food for the Manasquan Food Pantry :

Michael Wells, Jules Fuches, Jenna Barry, Isabel Bartlucci, Jessica O'Brien, Ky Morghan, Joseph Wronko, Molly and Emma Idzahl, Ava Hasen, Luca Buckno, Skylar Hillin, Emily Farrel, Alexis Marrleveled and Jess Corsentino; as well as their advisor, Jessica O'Brien.

Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 2430, based out of Manasquan High School, who collected 374 pounds of much needed food for the Manasquan Food Pantry:

Casey Finnegan, Cormac Lawrence, Janelle Slovak, Jessica Slovak, Olivia Maes, Lexi Drent, Charlotte Dery and Bridget Freeman; as well as their advisor, Maddi Schille.

Working together, these students, and their advisors, have made a significant and positive impact in our communities, helping to feed the hungry. Their noble and generous efforts are inspiring and deeply appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following letter, drafted by respected experts--including former members of Congress--in the field of religious freedom, and sent to members on Capitol Hill today, underscoring the dire state of religious freedom in Nigeria, and calling for that country to be designated a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Their stark appraisal of the situation, and the immediate threat to the lives of thousands of Nigerians, merits immediate action by the Biden Administration.

December 12, 2023.

Dear Members of Congress: As religious freedom advocates

and proponents, and leaders of grassroots organizations with

millions of American members, we appeal to you to urgently

respond to the Department of State's failure to adequately

address egregious, systematic, and ongoing religious

persecution in Nigeria, as required by the International

Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998.

We specifically urge Nigeria's designation as a Country of

Particular Concern (CPC) under the IRFA and the appointment

of a special envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region.

Additionally, we urge you to support and cosponsor the bi-

partisan legislation authored by Rep. Chris Smith and Rep.

Henry Cuellar House Resolution 82, which calls for the State

Department to carry out these two steps.

A staggering 90 percent of all the Christians killed for

their faith worldwide last

year were killed in Nigeria, according to Open Doors, an

increase from the 80 percent it reported in 2021. Over 5,000

Nigerian Christians are reported to have been killed for

their faith in 2022.

Most of this slaughter is now carried out by militants

within the Fulani Muslim herder population, who have been

allowed to act largely with impunity. While some Muslims have

also been killed by the same forces, the Observatory for

Religious Freedom in Africa found that, from October 2019 to

September 2022, Christians in Nigeria were 7.6 times more

likely to be killed and 6 times more likely to be abducted

than Muslims by terrorist and militia groups, when taking

into account their population's proportions in Nigeria's

states.

Catholic priests, evangelical pastors, and Methodist

bishops have been special targets of kidnapping by Fulani and

unidentified gunmen, typically shouting ``Allahu Akbar.'' The

pontifical organization, Aid to the Church in Need, reports

that, since early 2022 alone, 100 Nigerian Catholic priests

have been kidnapped and not yet freed, 20 of whom were

murdered, with many of these attacks occurring on church

grounds. Nigerian media also reports the kidnapping of two

imams from their mosques in 2022. Since 2009, some 17,000

churches have been burned and attacked, while many of them--

such as St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Ondo State that

was attacked on Pentecost Sunday last year--were filled with

worshippers. We are not aware of a single case that has been

prosecuted.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

reports that in ``northcentral Nigeria, ethnonationalists

fighting to promote Fulani interests target Christian

civilians based on ethnoreligious identity.'' In recommending

CPC designation, it concludes that the Nigerian Government

has ``routinely failed to investigate these attacks and

prosecute those responsible, demonstrating a problematic

level of apathy on the part of state officials.''

In addition, terror groups such as Boko Haram and the

Islamic State West Africa Province have attacked and killed

thousands of Christians and Muslims who reject their

dictates. Unknown numbers of Christian girls and women have

been kidnapped into sexual slavery. Boko Haram kidnapped over

200 schoolgirls in 2014 in Chibok, Borno State, half of whom

remain captive and are pressured to convert to Islam, while

Leah Sharibu remains enslaved following a terrorist raid of

her school in Dapchi, Yobe State, in 2018.

Lawlessness has resulted in millions of internally

displaced Nigerians and hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Just this year, in Nigeria's north central Benue State, whose

population is overwhelmingly Christian, nearly two million

farming families were displaced by Fulani militants. Some of

them were then hunted down in their places of refuge and

brutally hacked to death. Catholic Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of

Benue's Makurdi diocese recently shared video documentation

of the aftermath of one such attack with numerous Members of

Congress.

Authorities also engage directly in religious persecution

by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that have resulted in

recent death sentences for Sufi musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu

and two Muslim clerics, and ``religious insult'' laws that

led to a 24-year sentence for Nigeria's Humanist Association

head, Mubarak Bala. Moreover, these laws have been

accompanied by a routine grant of impunity for extrajudicial

attacks against their perceived violators. Last year, there

was the unprosecuted mob killing of student Deborah Emmanuel

Yakubu after she was accused of blasphemy and the

unprosecuted serious death threats against the Sultan of

Sokoto, Sokoto's Catholic bishop, and Rhoda Jatau, a

Christian woman, all three of whom were targeted for

expressing disapproval of Yakubu's murder.

IRFA requires frank assessments in the face of such grave

religious freedom violations. The Secretary of State should

acknowledge that Nigeria has ``engaged in or tolerated''

severe religious freedom violations, the statutory criteria

warranting CPC designation. This is particularly important

since the United States is a major partner of Nigeria, having

given it over $1 billion in foreign aid in 2022, alone.

As Africa's most populous country and its largest economy,

Nigeria wields significant influence in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By allowing religious persecution to proliferate within its

borders, Nigeria is compounding already heightened regional

insecurity. Both American interests and the International

Religious Freedom Act require a response. We view the passage

of the bi-partisan House Resolution 82 as an essential first

step.

Sincerely,

David Curry President and CEO, Global Christian Relief;

Governor Sam Brownback, Former Ambassador for International

Religious Freedom Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom

Summit; Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President, Lantos

Foundation for Human Rights & Justice Co-Chair, International

Religious Freedom Summit;

Nina Shea, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Religious

Freedom, Hudson Institute; Kristen Waggoner, President and

CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom; Tony Perkins, Chairman,

Family Research Council; Leonard Leo, Former Chair, US

Commission on International Religious Freedom.

F. Brent Leatherwood, President, Ethics & Religious Liberty

Commission Southern Baptist Convention; Congressman Frank

Wolf, Former Member of Congress 1981-2015, Retired; George

Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy

Center; Mary Ann Glendon, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy

See, Learned Hand Professor of Law, emerita Harvard

University; Eric Patterson, President, Religious Freedom

Institute; Jane Adolphe, Founder & Executive Director,

International Catholic Jurists Forum; Jeff King, President,

International Christian Concern (ICC).

The Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, Diocesan Bishop The Anglican

Diocese of the Living Word Anglican Church in North America;

Timothy R. Head, Executive Director, Faith and Freedom

Coalition; Dr. Randel Everett, President, 21Wilberforce;

Stephen S. Enada, Executive President, International

Committee on Nigeria; Faith McDonnell, Director, Katartismos

Global; John Stonestreet, President, Colson Center for

Christian Worldview.

Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Director, American Association of

Evangelicals (AAE); Robert Nicholson, President and Founder

Philos Project; Amanda Bowman, Chair, The Catholic Herald

Institute; Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide

Watch; Kathryn Jean Lopez, Senior Fellow, National Review

Institute; Alejandro Chafuen, Founder, International Freedom

Educational Foundation; Mark Tooley, President, Institute on

Religion and Democracy; Dede Laugesen, Executive Director,

Save the Persecuted Christians; Richard Ghazal, In Defense of

Christians.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to call attention to the government of Iran's long, ongoing, and brutal campaign of terror against the Baha'i continues unabated.

Of course, the government of Iran is one of the most brutal, cruel, and repressive in the world, truly one of the ``worst of the worst.'' The victims of its terrorism abroad include entire countries threatened by the wars, proxy wars, and terrorism it directs, including in most Middle Eastern countries.

Within Iran, the regime terrorizes its own citizens--here we will remember the savage persecution of Christians, and the women blinded by the hanian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini. To some degree everyone living in Iran is a victim of this government. Yet we must also specifically remember the Baha'i.

Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i religion initially developed in Persia. Iran is home to about 300,000 Baha'i--which makes it the largest

Baha'i community in any country in the world. The Baha'i International Community at the United Nations Office in Geneva published The Baha'i of Iran--A Persecuted Community, which revealed that since the current regime took power in 1981, over 200 Baha'i's have been executed, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs on account of their religion.

In the last year, the persecution has intensified, resulting in grave human right violations. The number of arrests of Baha'i's has only increased, and even included that of a 90-year-old man who had previously served 10 years in prison. The Baha'i's center of faith is in the city of Haifa, Israel, which the Iranian government uses as a pretext to classify Baha'i's as Israeli spies and execute them for committing the spurious crimes of conspiring with the ``Zionist regime''.

Although the Iranian government persecutes all who are not Shi'a Muslims, since Baha'i are accused of heresy and group apostasy, they are singled out for particularly savage repression. The Iranian government has denied them access to universities and even in some cases, prohibited them from graduating high school, while also consistently denying Baha'i's the opportunity to open and own businesses.

In 1982, the Iranian government seized the Baha'i's cemeteries and holy places--and only over ten years later did it allocate them a 20,000-square-meter plot of land in which to bury their dead. As time has passed, that small parcel of land no longer suffices--and finding a place to bury loved ones has become a daunting task. Reportedly, government agents are stationed at the entrance of the cemetery to prevent visitation, and the government has taken control of the buildings used for burial ceremony activities.

In September 2023, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported that ``Iranian authorities have arrested scores of Baha'i's across Iran, taken them to locations that were initially undisclosed, and sentenced them to excessive jail terms as the government has attempted to restrict internal dissent in response to protests.''

Mr. Speaker, it is sad to say that neither in respect of human rights of the Baha'i or in any other respect has the government of Iran reformed or even improved its human rights record. But Congress has remained firm in their support of the Baha'i. Since 1982 Congress has repeatedly passed resolutions expressing support for the religious freedom rights of the Baha'i's in Iran.

The Iranian government must stop the arbitrary arrests of members of the Baha'i community. We must continue to speak out and hold the government accountable for the destruction of life and property belonging to people of Baha'i faith.