Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1164) to condition assistance to the West Bank and Gaza on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens, 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 material in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, today we consider the Taylor Force Act. This is bipartisan legislation that honors a courageous and patriotic young American, Taylor Force.

Taylor was an Eagle Scout. He was a West Point graduate who served his country with distinction in Afghanistan and Iraq before he enrolled in Vanderbilt's MBA program. He was a young man with big dreams and loads of potential. Then Taylor's life was tragically cut short at the age of 28 when he was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while on a business school trip to Israel.

I had the honor of meeting again with Taylor's parents, Stuart and Robbi, who were on Capitol Hill today. They have worked so hard to make this bill a legacy for their son, to ensure that no other family has to experience what they have experienced. They have been so generous with their time, their spirit, their story. We are grateful for all of their efforts, and we wish them comfort as they continue to mourn the heartbreaking loss of their son.

We need to be clear about responsibility for this vicious attack. The Palestinian Authority gives salaries to Palestinians who attack innocent people like Taylor. If the attacker dies, then the attacker's family is compensated under their law. I know it is hard for us to adjust to this, but it is Palestinian law to reward Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck. The Palestinian leadership also pays the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

It goes without saying that these policies clearly incentivize terrorism. In fact, this perverse pay-to-slay system uses a sliding scale: the longer the jail sentence, in other words, the greater the mayhem created there, the greater the reward. The highest payment goes to those serving life sentences, to those who prove, obviously, most brutal.

This system is a disgrace. It is also the result of an abiding climate of hatred that Palestinian leaders continue to foster toward Jews, toward Israelis.

As one witness told our committee: `` `Incitement' is the term we usually use, but hatred is what we mean . . . teaching generations of Palestinians to hate Jews by demonizing and dehumanizing them.'' That is what democratic Israel faces, and it is not getting any better.

Yet, for a generation, we have given economic aid to the Palestinians, in large part, to try to stabilize their society to promote peaceful coexistence between the Palestinians and Israelis. This goal is undermined every day that the PA makes payments for acts of terrorism. This must stop.

This bipartisan bill cuts off assistance that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority unless the PA takes credible steps to end acts of violence,

stops payments for acts of terrorism, revokes the laws requiring these payments, or takes actions comparable to revoking the laws, and publicly condemns these acts of violence.

Our bill also requires consistent reporting to Congress that clearly explains how the administration makes its determinations. If our assistance is being withheld, the administration must report which of the PA's dangerous actions are continuing so that Congress can determine how to apply pressure going forward.

Too many grieving families go to sleep every night knowing that money is changing hands as a reward for violence that killed one of their loved ones.

With this bill, we are using the weight of U.S. law to help see that no more families--American, Israeli, or anyone--join their tragic ranks. We do this in the name of one brave American, Taylor Force, to honor the memories of all victims and, importantly, help prevent future victims. We also do it in the hopes of peace.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). He is the author of this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. She is also our chairman emeritus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is the coauthor of this measure.

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

In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me thank my friend and colleague, Eliot Engel, for his eloquence in explaining the enormity of the tragedy here and the meaning of this terrorism. I think Mr. Engel has been such a diligent partner in not only helping us move this bill through, but helping us run the committee in a bipartisan way. I want to thank him at this moment as we pass this act for all of his work on this issue through the legislation and through the hearings. I think it has had an impact in the understanding of the Members here.

I also want to recognize and thank our former colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. I have talked with him about this issue. He originated this bill in the Senate. I know also how passionately he feels about this, as do Eliot and myself. I look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to ensure that the bill that we pass here in the House or the Senate bill, either one, the bottom line is that the Taylor Force Act must become law quickly. That is our objective.

The purpose of our aid, as we understand it, is to advance U.S. interests around the world. That is why we give aid. I think all of us can agree that that does not include paying people to commit crimes of terrorism. The Palestinian Authority is flatout undermining U.S. interests by compensating and incentivizing violence, as articulated by my friend, Mr. Engel.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, which ensures that there are consequences for this disgraceful policy and ensures that the U.S. plays no part, even indirectly, in participating in this behavior. The PA giving compensation for violence is beyond the pale. It is long past time that we treat it that way.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2658) to provide humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan people, to defend democratic governance and combat widespread public corruption in Venezuela, 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 any extraneous material.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill represents broad bipartisan concern here in the House for the worsening humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. It calls on the Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator to develop a humanitarian assistance strategy to help the people of Venezuela.

As the authoritarian Venezuelan Government digs in its heels and consolidates its power, the people of that once wealthy nation, last year, experienced a 65 percent increase in maternal mortality, a 30 percent increase in infant mortality, and a 76 percent increase in malaria cases.

Severe shortages of basic medicine persists. They have right now about 5 percent of the basic medicines that they used to have. A 2016 report shows that three out of every four Venezuelans had lost an average of 19 pounds due to lack of proper nutrition and due to lack of food.

Despite all of this, President Maduro continues to deny the existence of a full-fledged humanitarian crisis while blaming any hardships on his opposition or the international community that seeks only to support the people of Venezuela in their pursuit of democracy and basic human rights.

I applaud the administration for sanctioning those in the Maduro regime complicit--complicit--in the rampant corruption and anti- democratic measures that have stifled the will of the people there. But we must address the specter of the complete collapse of the Venezuelan economy and the resulting humanitarian crisis.

I encourage my colleagues to support this measure by Mr. DeSantis, which will require a strategy to address the crisis while signaling bipartisan support for the democratic and human rights aspirations of the people of Venezuela.

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

Congress of the United States,

Washington, DC, December 5, 2017.

Hon. Edward R. Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I write with respect to H.R. 2658, the

``Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Democratic

Governance.'' As a result of your having consulted with us on

provisions within H.R. 2658 that fall within the Rule X

jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I forego any

further consideration of this bill so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor for consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 2658 at

this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation and that our

committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may

address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our

committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation and asks

that you support any such request.

I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2658 and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration of the bill.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Eliot Engel for authoring this bill along with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. I also thank Albio Sires and Ron DeSantis, the cosponsors of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who is the chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the primary Republican cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Florida an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Sires is not alone.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cook), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and a cosponsor of this bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues--Mr. Engel, the author, and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, the cosponsor of this measure--for their leadership and for bringing the bill here to the floor.

The world has watched with great sadness as President Maduro continues to run his country into the ground, denying his citizens access to basic food and denying them access to medicine. His obsession with consolidating power has resulted in Venezuela's economic collapse, and it is a collapse created by his wrongheaded populist and socialist mismanagement that has left his country in dire economic straits.

Even more disturbing to me is that Maduro's lieutenants continue lining their pockets while Venezuelan citizens go without food and medicine. This bill reiterates this body's support for the people of Venezuela by instructing relevant U.S. agencies to develop a strategy to address their immediate humanitarian needs, while supporting democracy and human rights.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 259) expressing concern and condemnation over the political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Congressman DeSantis for his work on this resolution.

The world has watched as Venezuela's economy has nearly collapsed, bringing about a humanitarian crisis on top of the existing political crisis that we see there. Maduro's decision to sideline the democratically elected National Assembly by forming a so-called constituent assembly made up of his lieutenants has cemented Venezuela as a full-fledged dictatorship.

The administration made clear through a combination of sanctions and regional engagement that Maduro's violation of Venezuela's constitution continues to destabilize not just Venezuela, but it is destabilizing this entire region. And the sanctions also made clear that the Maduro regime's corruption and involvement in drug trafficking is known and will not be tolerated.

Venezuela's once prosperous economy is isolated and is suffering record-high inflation rates. The humanitarian crisis, fueled by shortages of food and shortages of medicine, has resulted in the resurgence of diseases and a big increase in infant mortality. All of this has led to even more unrest, fueling the potential of another major migration crisis right here in the Western Hemisphere.

The destabilizing effect of the Maduro regime must end. The resumption of talks this week between the opposition and the Maduro regime cannot

be just another way for the regime to buy time. The international community, regional leaders, and this body must be united in our insistence that Maduro take seriously the need for resolution of this serious political and humanitarian crisis.

Passage of this measure will send a strong, bipartisan message that Congress stands with the Venezuelan people and that Congress stands in favor of democracy and transparency and against corruption and against human rights violations.

This resolution calls on regional leaders and the Organization of American States to continue to pressure Maduro to release political prisoners, to dissolve the unconstitutional constituent assembly, and, most importantly, to schedule fair and transparent elections now.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. DeSantis), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and author of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and one of this body's preeminent experts on the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Congressman DeSantis, Mr. Engel, and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for their work on this resolution.

I think it is a heartbreaking situation what is going on in Venezuela today. It is rather astounding that Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, yet here we have a situation where its citizens lack medicine and food at this time.

I think the recent report that 20 percent of the country's medical professionals have fled Venezuela amid the Maduro regime's self- inflicted political, economic, and humanitarian crisis is indicative of the problem. Inflation right now is reaching 720 percent.

Support of this resolution will send a strong unified message that Congress stands with the Venezuelan people, that we call on regional leaders and the entire international community to hold Maduro accountable for this crisis and to release political prisoners and, importantly, to hold elections immediately.

Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge my colleagues to join me in support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Affairs be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 92) recognizing the deep and abiding friendship between the United States and Israel, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 21st Century Flood Reform Act.

I think what Chairman Jeb Hensarling was able to do here, and Chairman Duffy, is put forward a bill that has really brought together the Montagues and the Capulets, I mean, when you think about the fact that, on one hand, you have got the environmental community supporting this and you have got taxpayers' advocates; you have got conservative think tanks and you have got affordable housing groups; you have the reinsurers and you have the insurers.

We talked about two priorities that at least I was pushing to reauthorize in the National Flood Insurance Program. One of those was to provide better disclosure to consumers about flood risk. We wanted them to know. And the second was to decrease the number of repeatedly flooded properties. This bill accomplishes both of those things.

Section 108 of the bill includes language that I authored, which will provide information to home buyers about past flood events, about the damage, about insurance claims, about any obligation they might have to carry flood insurance; and the National Association of Realtors supports this commonsense approach.

Section 402 of the bill includes the bipartisan Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act, sponsored by Representative Earl Blumenauer and me. This means that repeatedly flooded properties, which comprise less than 2 percent of NFIP policies but account for one-third of all claims, are dealt with.

Responsible, community-driven mitigation is a win-win proposal, one which will help our neighborhoods become stronger in the face of floods and address the fiscal footing of the overall program by decreasing the cost as this is addressed to community level.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would particularly like to thank the Pew Charitable Trusts, their flood-prepared communities initiative, for their support of our reform efforts.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of November 1, 2017, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 599) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to United States policy towards Yemen, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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 in the Record on the resolution.

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

I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), for working in good faith toward achieving a resolution that productively addresses a very complex issue and a very serious issue, namely, the strategic and humanitarian implications of the ongoing conflict being fought in Yemen. I should also recognize the good work of our Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel of New York.

This resolution will send a strong and needed message to all involved in this conflict that is causing so much human suffering. According to the U.N., more than 20 million people in Yemen--that is 76 percent of the population--are in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 2 million people are affected by either moderate or by severe malnutrition.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 599 is a bipartisan alternative to H. Con. Res. 81. That initial proposal had claimed procedural privileges by invoking section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, which applies only when U.S. forces are

engaged in hostilities abroad without authorization. Though we provide logistics to our Saudi partners in the region, United States forces are not conducting hostilities against Houthi forces in Yemen.

The initial resolution also neglected a key facet of the Yemen crisis, and that is Iran, which has been providing increasing support-- very nefarious support--to the Houthi rebels. We must not forget that in April of 2015, the U.N. Security Council, acting under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, condemned the violent Houthi government overthrow ``in the strongest terms'' and obligated all U.N. member states to comply with and enforce an embargo on arms and military assistance ``of all types'' to the Houthi forces. This makes Iran's acts to fuel this deadly conflict a gross violation of international law, as our ambassador has pointed out.

I am glad that the new H. Res. 599 addresses these shortcomings, and I rise to support it today.

Even before this latest conflict, Yemen was the poorest country in the region. It was wracked by violence and unrest. For years, the countries of North and South Yemen were in conflict before they became a single state. That was in 1990. After an uprising in 2011, Yemen embarked on a path of attempted national dialogue, of unification, and of constitutional reform; but hopes for stability and progress were dashed in 2014. That is the time when an Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group in alliance with former Yemeni strongman, Ali Abdullah Saleh, forcibly deposed the internationally recognized government of President Hadi.

In response, the United States Security Council adopted Resolution 2216, which sanctioned individuals involved in destabilizing Yemen and demanded that the Houthis unconditionally end their use of violence, withdraw their forces, relinquish their seized weapons, and refrain from threats to neighboring states.

Unfortunately, the Houthi-Saleh rejection of this U.N. Security Council resolution, with Iran's backing, has sabotaged the prospects for peace.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has longstanding, critical national security interests in this region. Members will recall that the deadly bombing of the USS Cole occurred there in Yemen. Other terrorist plots against Americans originated in Yemen, including the unsuccessful 2009 underwear bomber attack on a Northwest Airlines flight that was going to Detroit.

We and our partners continue to conduct operations against al-Qaida inside Yemen, and that is pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force with the permission of the internationally recognized Government of Yemen.

Although al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula may not grab a lot of international headlines, it still continues to threaten Western nations, and it still maintains a significant network in South Yemen, which we are working to disrupt.

Making matters worse, Yemen has become another front in Iran's quest for regional dominance, which has accelerated in the wake of the previous administration's nuclear deal.

Consider that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has transferred increasingly sophisticated weapons systems to the Houthis and specialists to train and advise their units.

Also consider that Iran's top terror proxy, Hezbollah, is helping the Houthis, who have launched numerous missiles and raids into Saudi Arabia, killing innocent civilians. Just last week, a ballistic missile was intercepted over the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

This Iranian meddling in Yemen thwarts peace by empowering the Houthis to resist a return to political negotiations. The Iranian regime could not care less about the human suffering it is responsible for.

Of course, beyond our national security, the region is also vital to the U.S. and the global economy. The southwest coast of Yemen constitutes one side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a narrow, strategic chokepoint in the flow of international goods headed to and from Europe, Asia, and the United States.

At times, Iranian-supported Houthis have attacked international shipping, including an American vessel. Disruptions to shipping along the waterway mean disruptions to employment and wages.

So it is no wonder that, in response to these threats, a Saudi-led coalition of 10 nations began military operations against Houthi-Saleh forces in March of 2015. Its mission was to reinstate the internationally recognized government.

However, 2\1/2\ years later, military progress remains elusive and battle lines are hardened. The Saudi-led coalition controls the port city of Aden and the lowland areas in the south, while the Houthis continue to hold the capital and the highlands of northern Yemen. Civilian casualties have been distressingly high, including from Saudi airstrikes in the early months of the campaign.

Today, Yemen is in shambles. It is simultaneously experiencing the world's largest food insecurity crisis and largest cholera outbreak, with more than 900,000 suspected cases. Last week's moves by the Saudis to further close ground, air, and seaports only threaten to make things worse.

The United States remains committed to providing much-needed relief to innocent men, women, and children affected by this crisis. In fact, we remain the single largest donor of humanitarian aid to Yemen, by far.

USAID and U.N. aid to agencies report that all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, have been responsible for bureaucratic impediments and disruptions to humanitarian operations, complicating our ability to effectively deliver lifesaving assistance. Our resolution says this must stop, by all sides.

Mr. Speaker, this all provides for a very complex policy challenge. Some say the United States should distance itself from longstanding military cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf Cooperation Council partners. But this would only strengthen Iran's malign influence in the region and would not solve the humanitarian crisis. Indeed, it would likely worsen it.

At the same time, others say our only focus should be neutralizing Iran and terrorist threats. But we cannot ignore the moral and strategic costs of civilian casualties and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

To this end, I believe that H. Res. 599 appropriately balances the shared, bipartisan concerns of this body:

The urgent need for a political solution in Yemen consistent with Security Council Resolution 2216;

A call for all parties to prevent civilian casualties;

Support for the Saudi-led coalition's commitments to improve targeting and abide by their no-strike list; and,

Condemnation and sanctions for Iran's destabilizing activities in Yemen in violation of Security Council Resolution 2216.

Here, we should note that this body has taken strong, bipartisan action in recent months to challenge Iran's aggression, including by sanctioning its ICBM program and its support for the terrorist group Hezbollah.

Make no mistake about it: Iran is an avowed enemy and our biggest security threat in the region; on the other hand, the Saudis are our partners.

The resolution calls for all parties to allow unobstructed access for humanitarian organizations, human rights investigations, medical personnel, and journalists. In general, it brings attention to a Yemeni conflict that deserves more international notice.

As we debate this measure, I suspect we may hear different views of War Powers and authorizations for use of military force as they relate to Yemen.

As I said, I don't believe our security cooperation with the Saudis triggers War Powers. This is the type of support we provide to many other governments. But just because it does not arise under that particular statute does not make it immune from our scrutiny.

I share Members' concerns that Congress must be as attentive as possible to the roles and missions of our Armed Forces overseas and monitor the ways in which our security assistance is being used. In this sense, Yemen does warrant closer watching. That is what I believe this resolution does.

I again want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), the majority leader and minority whip of the

House, and my good friend Ranking Member Eliot Engel for the good work that went into this text, which I support.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and current chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

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

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this resolution is to pressure the Saudis to take those steps to reopen access to those ports. That is what we are doing.

We need to be talking about the other aspect of what we are also trying to do here, and that is to try to get the Houthis to respond to the actions taken by the U.N. and to try to get the Houthis to lift their impediments that they have put in place. They need to respect the neutrality of aid and stop diverting humanitarian convoys away from those who are in need, as we know from the U.N. that this is the problem.

The Houthis, according to the United Nations, need to accept the U.N. plan that would allow for neutral actors to administer the port of Hodeidah so deliveries of essential food and medicines can resume.

Part of our difficulty here is the Houthis are, or have become, under the tutelage here of their Iranian supporters. You know, they are a minority in Yemen, but Iran uses them to exploit divisions between Yemeni society. This is part of the complexity of this.

The Houthis' slogan is derived from Iran's own anti-U.S. slogans. Their slogan, if you listen to them on the broadcast, is: ``Death to America, Death to Israel, Damn the Jews.''

Now, they didn't pick that up on their own. Part of the problem here is the leaders of the Houthi militia were indoctrinated in Qom, in Iran, as part of an Iranian attempt to construct a Hezbollah-like proxy in Yemen. They have done it.

What we are trying to do is figure out a way to both convince them to reopen the port under the U.N. auspices here for these deliveries and convince the Saudis and the other members of this coalition that they should cooperate on this access as well. This is the attempt of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Francis Rooney), vice chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman

from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), a senior member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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

Mr. Speaker, part of the complexity here in this tragedy is that Iran does want to turn the Houthis into a Yemeni version of Hezbollah, thereby turning Yemen into a second Lebanon, where a militia is constantly holding the government hostage.

We do face a challenge here in the sense that they are firing Iranian missiles on a regular basis into Saudi Arabia, at cities across Saudi Arabia, including firing on Riyadh, the capital.

Now, we have not committed American forces to fight against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and I do not believe the American people want us to. We should not. Our main involvement has been in the form of humanitarian assistance and our longstanding preexisting security relationships with regional partners, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Gulf Cooperation Council.

I don't disagree that we must push them to improve their operations to better avoid civilian casualties and humanitarian harm, but it is a dangerous delusion to think that distancing ourselves from those security relationships would serve the cause of peace and security in Yemen and the region. It would do the opposite.

House Resolution 599, in my opinion, is a very responsible reaction to the ongoing crisis, but it expresses the urgent need for a political solution in Yemen, calls on all parties to prevent civilian casualties and promote humanitarian access, and condemns Iran for its continuing destabilizing activities in Yemen in violation of the U.N. Security Council.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Khanna for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act. This is a bipartisan bill. It expands economic opportunities for many, many Americans because, to date, only an individual's wealth has been taken into consideration when defining whether he meets the qualifications or she meets the qualifications of an accredited investor under our securities laws. The simple fix proposed by this bill will empower those with financial expertise and those with experience to join the ranks of those who can invest in private, high-growth companies.

It was explained very eloquently here by the bill's author, and I think that this commonplace change is going to broaden the pool of startup capital. That is going to help companies looking to grow, companies looking to add jobs.

At the same time, it provides an investment opportunity, one with greater upside and more risk, to those previously locked out of the private placement market. This includes many educated young Americans who have not yet had time to grow their pocketbooks but do have the expertise in these areas.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I have seen firsthand that the entrepreneurial spirit is certainly alive and well in California and all across this country, and this bill before us today ensures that more Americans can participate in both the risk and reward of the startup economy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 1585.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1698) to expand sanctions against Iran with respect to the ballistic missile program of Iran, 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 any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, due to the technical issues in the Chamber, I ask to withdraw the motion.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1698) to expand sanctions against Iran with respect to the ballistic missile program of Iran, 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 any extraneous material.

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

Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives here considers four measures that we have worked on in a bipartisan way, four measures that are consistent with the President's call for an approach to Iran that addresses the full range of threats that it possesses to not just the United States, but to our allies, to our partners as well.

This legislation, which I have authored along with my colleague, Eliot Engel, I am proud to say we now have 323 cosponsors to this bill. This is the bipartisan Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act.

What this does is respond to the regime's continued pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missiles and to dangerous conventional weapons.

Mr. Speaker, I will begin by thanking my good friend, Mr. Engel, for his hard work, his collaboration, along with Mr. Steny Hoyer and Mr. McCarthy, in bringing this important legislation to this floor.

Iran has already developed an arsenal of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, and those missiles put our allies, our partners, as well as U.S. forces in range.

Now Iran is working on intercontinental ballistic missiles. I think to get the point across, I would just quote our former Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, because he testified before Congress on this issue. What he conveyed to us is: `` . . . the I in ICBM stands for intercontinental, which means having the capability from flying from Iran to the United States, and we don't want that.''

That was the way he explained this.

One of the reasons that we don't want that is that intercontinental ballistic missiles are inherently capable of carrying nuclear weapons. In fact, as one expert told the Foreign Affairs Committee, ``no country that has not aspired to possess nuclear weapons has ever opted to sustain'' a lengthy and expensive missile program.

I would take issue with that. I do know of one exception to that rule. That exception was South Africa under the apartheid regime, which did develop the atomic weapon. It is an example of how sanctions can be successful, because when we passed sanctions here, the consequence was they made a decision to turn that weapon back over to the IAEA, as well as to allow Nelson Mandela to leave jail, and they held elections. That is the exception I know of.

So whether you supported the nuclear deal or whether you opposed that nuclear deal, this other issue should concern you either way. By developing the delivery system, Iran is keeping its options open.

So from those who worked on the deal, one of the architects, Jake Sullivan of the former administration, made it clear to us--and this was 2 weeks ago--that imposing costs on Iran for its continued pursuit of ballistic missiles and other destabilizing activity is ``not only necessary, but justified.''

That is one of the architects of the agreement itself.

That is what this bill does. It requires a comprehensive investigation to identify and designate the companies, the banks, the individuals inside and outside of Iran which supply the regime's missiles and supply their conventional weapons programs, and it sanctions them. In doing so, it shuts out Iranian and foreign companies involved in Iran's missile program. It also shuts out the banks that back them. It shuts them out from the global financial system.

This bill expands Iran sanctions that we passed and were signed into law in August with H.R. 3364, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

For example, while the bill that passed over the summer specifically sanctions those who materially contribute to Iran's ballistic missile program, the bill before us today goes a step further by sanctioning those that are in the business of financing Iran's efforts.

The conventional weapons prohibition in the bill before us are also stronger, and let me explain why. The August legislation referenced the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, which excludes such items as Russia's recent sale of the S-300 air defense system to Iran. The bill before us ensures that there is no such carve-out.

Mr. Speaker, Members have different views on how to handle Iran's nuclear program, but when it comes to Iran's ballistic missile and conventional weapons programs, all 323 cosponsors of this bill agree: Iran has no business developing or acquiring intercontinental ballistic missiles. That is why it is so important that we pass this bill and give the administration the tools to respond.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, October 23, 2017.

Hon. Edward R. Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R.

1698, the ``Iran Ballistic Missiles and International

Sanctions Enforcement Act,'' on which the Committee on Ways

and Means was granted an additional referral.

As a result of your having consulted with us on provisions

in H.R. 1698 that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the

Committee on Ways and Means, I agree to waive formal

consideration of this bill so that it may move expeditiously

to the floor. The Committee on Ways and Means takes this

action with the mutual understanding that we do not waive any

jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or

similar legislation, and the Committee will be appropriately

consulted and involved as the bill or similar legislation

moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues

that fall within our jurisdiction. The Committee also

reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation, and

requests your support for such request.

Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter

confirming this understanding, and would ask that a copy of

our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the

Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 1698.

Sincerely,

Kevin Brady,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security. He is a former Federal prosecutor and a senior member of our Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the esteemed majority leader of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, and she is the author of multiple laws addressing the Iranian threat.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe). He is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to submit any statements or any material in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all our members who worked on this bill. Over the last few years, the Foreign Affairs Committee has conducted dedicated oversight of the threats posed by Iran, and we have had dozens of hearings. And whether the topic was the nuclear program, or the missile program, or Iran's support for terrorism, or the regime's human rights abuses, the conclusion was clear. The United States must respond to the full range of threats, and with this bill and the others before us, that is what we are doing here today.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3342) to impose sanctions on foreign persons that are responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by reason of the use by Hizballah of civilians as human shields, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am rising in strong support to this Shields Act, as we call it, which sanctions Hezbollah, sanctions them for their use in southern Lebanon of not only families, but entire villages as human shields; and let me explain this.

As we have discussed today, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization, Hezbollah, has constructed an entire military apparatus in the nation that sits just north of Israel's northern border in Lebanon. It is now complete with missile production facilities that are intended to strike at Israel's civilian centers.

I do want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) for his leadership because he has helped bring this critical attention to us today.

But, in the process, as we talk about Hezbollah, they have placed Israeli and Lebanese civilians directly into the path of the conflict. If you go to that border, as I have done, you can see command post after command post, not manned by the Lebanese Armed Forces. Those flags you see are not Lebanese flags, they are Hezbollah battle flags. And they man those posts, surrounded by antitank and infantry positions, surrounded by underground tunnels and rocket launchers and arms depots. In short, countless Lebanese villages are, in effect, military bases, the ones that are right along that border, financed and equipped by Iran.

No one has the right to sacrifice the lives of innocent women and children, and certainly not those dedicated to the twisted and evil goals of destroying the State of Israel.

When I say I have seen this firsthand, in 2006, I was in Haifa during the war that Hezbollah was conducting with Israel, and Hezbollah forces used human shields extensively in a cowardly effort to protect their rocket launchers from counterattacks by Israeli forces. I watched as those rockets came into civilian populations in Haifa and exploded there, and sent those civilians to the trauma hospital.

In Rambam trauma hospital, as they were bringing people in, I asked for the count that day. There were 600 victims, wounded victims of those attacks, being treated in that hospital--Arab Israelis, Jewish Israelis, Druid Israelis, all of them victims of those Hezbollah attacks.

It seems--and by the way, when you see the devastation, every one of those Iranian-made missiles has 90,000 ball bearings in it, and that is what they are launching on schools, civilian areas. They attempted to hit the hospital itself.

It seems that Hezbollah and its Iranian backers are willing to fight to the

last villager there in their quest to annihilate the people of Israel, yet neither Hezbollah nor Iran has been held to account by responsible nations for these egregious crimes.

While Foreign Minister Zarif of Iran was coddled by the EU, this issue was never raised, not by us, not by the EU. We never raised this with the Iranians as a serious issue. We have to because the willingness to overlook these human rights violations is why we find ourselves in the position that we are in today and why this legislation is critically important.

This bill calls on the U.S. and its partners to hold Hezbollah and Iran accountable through targeted sanctions and appropriate action at the United Nations Security Council.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC, October 23, 2017.

Hon. Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Goodlatte: Thank you for consulting with the

Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from

further consideration of H.R. 3342, Sanctioning Hizballah's

Illicit Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act, so that

the bill may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure

does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of

your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this resolution or similar legislation in the future. I

would support your effort to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any

House-Senate conference on this legislation.

I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 3342 into the

Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.

I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and

look forward to continuing to work together as this measure

moves through the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Edward R. Royce,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher). He is a member of the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees. He is also the author of this bill, along with Mr. Tom Suozzi of New York.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lethinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Garrett), who is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Committees.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Virginia an additional 1 minute.

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

Mr. Speaker, I did want to say I have had the opportunity to travel extensively with Mr. Engel and to observe him and his work here in this House for many years. He has always transcended partisanship in my view, but, more importantly, from my standpoint, he has been a servant of the national interests here and the core values of the United States of America and our attempt to represent those core values around the world.

I want to take this moment, especially given his eloquent statement here about these values as he spoke about Hezbollah. These are values that I think all of us should share.

The Geneva Convention, itself, establishes standards for international law, and it does so for the protection of civilians in a war zone. They specifically prohibit, under that Geneva Convention, of course, the use of civilians as human shields. It is article 58 of the Convention's additional protocols that require parties of any conflict to avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas.

So, to date, Hezbollah's arsenal is well over 100,000. As I shared with you, all of them are manufactured today by Iran. Those rockets and missiles of various ranges today include precision-guided missiles.

I spoke earlier of 2006, the second Lebanon War. That actually should be called the Hezbollah war. At that time, as I talked about the 600 victims that were in the trauma hospital, they were down to an inventory of 10,000 missiles. Today, they have, in the hands of Hezbollah--again, because of Iran--over 100,000 such rockets and missiles.

So I think, yes, Hezbollah has blatantly violated the well- established laws of armed conflict. It has targeted civilians for more than two decades in both Lebanon and Israel. As a result, both peoples are victims of Hezbollah's--and, frankly, of Iran's--brutality, and it is high time we hold them accountable. This we try to do in this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, Mr. Engel, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3329) to amend the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 to impose additional sanctions with respect to Hizballah, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, today we will consider legislation targeting Hezbollah, Iran's leading terrorist proxy, with tough, new sanctions.

It was 34 years ago this Monday that a truck bomb filled with explosives

detonated outside the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 of our servicemen. Between 1982 and 1984, we had 272 marines, soldiers, and sailors from 39 States and Puerto Rico lose their lives while serving as peacekeepers in Beirut. Hezbollah was behind those attacks.

Since that fateful day, Hezbollah has collaborated with Iran to expand terror throughout the region, taking hundreds of thousands of lives if we count the lives of human beings lost in Syria, in Yemen, in Iraq, and in Gaza.

Today, as a leading Iranian proxy, Hezbollah continues to be Iran's front line against Israel. Since its 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah has dramatically grown its supply of rockets and missiles, allowing it to strike throughout Israel with great precision and force.

It is by putting that military power to very effective use that it has gleaned through what it has learned on the ground in Syria. In Syria, its fighters are key to Tehran and its efforts to prop up the Assad regime, working with the Revolutionary Guard and also working with Russian troops there.

So now Hezbollah and Iran are reportedly working to introduce game- changing weapons into Lebanon and Syria, and that is what brings about this particular bill. What they are trying to do is produce facilities for sophisticated rockets and missiles there on the ground, on the border in Syria, on the border, also, in Lebanon, and that could lead to another war.

It is not a cheap effort to do this. That is why the committee is focused on dismantling Hezbollah's financial networks. In 2015, we led the way to enact the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act to target those that facilitate financial transactions for Hezbollah.

Now this bill builds on that effort to further ramp up pressure on the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah. It sanctions regimes, including Iran and Syria, that provide weapons to Hezbollah--in other words, an attempt to stop the transfer of these weapons. It targets Hezbollah's innovative fundraising and recruiting efforts, including its attempts to crowdsource small donations to support its fighters, which is the latest evolution of Hezbollah's efforts.

Hezbollah launched an online crowdsourcing campaign entitled: ``Equip a Mujahid,'' which calls for donations, large or small, payable in installments or in one sum, to equip suicide bombers and Hezbollah fighters.

This bill recognizes that Hezbollah is no longer only a terrorist group, but is also a global criminal organization, which has developed a global criminal network that profits from drug trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting, and cigarette smuggling, and it gives the administration the tools to respond accordingly.

Mr. Speaker, for years, this body has led the way in calling for the need to respond to the full range of threats from Iran. Hezbollah, the regime's leading terrorist proxy, ranks among the top of those threats, in terms of what is being encountered right now.

So I urge my colleagues to support this effort to ensure that the United States has the tools to respond.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC, October 23, 2017.

Hon. Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Goodlatte: Thank you for consulting with the

Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from

further consideration of H.R. 3329, the Hizballah

International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017, so

that the bill may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure

does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of

your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this resolution or similar legislation in the future. I

would support your effort to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any

House-Senate conference on this legislation.

I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 3329 into the

Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.

I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and

look forward to continuing to work together as this measure

moves through the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Edward R. Royce,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, in view of the National Defense Authorization conference, and in view of the fact that, from the House side, Mr. Engel and I both serve on that conference, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and I ask unanimous consent that she may control that time on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2408) to enhance the transparency, improve the coordination, and intensify the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary education for displaced children and persons, including women and girls, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to recognize Congressman Steve Chabot and Congresswoman Robin Kelly on the Foreign Affairs Committee for their work on this important issue of protecting girls and protecting their access to education, especially in vulnerable settings.

We all know that education is a critical driver of upward social mobility for these young girls, for economic growth, for overall stability in terms of a society. As we confront an increasing number of conflicts around this globe, education has got to remain a very key component of U.S. foreign assistance.

Around the world today, there are 27 million children who are out of school in conflict zones. Half of all children in refugee camps do not have access to primary education.

With many recent conflicts that have lasted, now, a decade, we are now seeing entire generations of children that fail to receive even the most basic education; and even if they are eventually able to return home, they carry back those deficits in terms of what they have not learned, and those deficits can last a lifetime. So this is a humanitarian crisis with real strategic implications.

In Syria, for example, an estimated 4 million children are out of school in an environment warped by constant violence. Refugee children outside of Syria are placing tremendous strains on the educational systems, and I have seen this in countries like Jordan, in Lebanon, in Turkey.

As we have seen in crisis situations around the world, the lack of stable educational opportunities make these children more vulnerable: more vulnerable, especially for girls, to exploitation; more vulnerable, especially for boys, to radicalization.

Girls face unique barriers to education in conflict zones. In these afflicted countries, girls are 2\1/2\ times more likely than young boys to be out of school. They frequently encounter cultural barriers that prevent them from seeking an education, and they often lack safe routes to that little school and back home from that school.

Promoting girls' access to education reduces their risk of falling victim to gender-based violence or to early marriage or to human trafficking. It is also the just thing to do.

H.R. 2408, the Protecting Girls' Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act, authorizes the State Department and authorizes USAID to enhance existing education programs for displaced children and to especially be engaged with girls.

The bill calls on the State Department and USAID to coordinate efforts with the private sector as well, with civil society groups, with multilateral organizations, to collect relevant data to improve the effectiveness of these programs that we are engaged in.

Finally, the bill would require that the State Department and the USAID include data on education programs for displaced children in any report to Congress on disaster relief and recovery efforts so that we are aware that they are engaged in addressing this issue.

We must strengthen the role of education in humanitarian assistance. Refugees and other displaced persons live on a knife edge of despair. Without access to education, children in conflict zones, especially girls, are more exposed to violence, to exploitation, and even to radicalization.

By helping to realize their innate potential, education gives these children hope, hope for today, and it gives them critical skills for tomorrow so that they can contribute to their homes, their communities, and so that they can contribute to the next generation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), who is on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and is the author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 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 yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we are surrounded here by former teachers today who have brought this bill, who have worked with us to bring this bill to the House floor, and we understand their impulse to reach out to these young children and try to see to it that they have an equal chance out in the world.

This is something that teachers do, and this focus on young girls, especially young girls in the most vulnerable situation, as a result of conflict in those regions making them at risk for trafficking, for exploitation or being child brides, these former teachers understand the importance of having a program directed specifically to this problem.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot); the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly.); certainly, Albio Sires, our ranking member on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee; and Ms. Ros- Lehtinen, of course, as chairman, for helping to ensure that international humanitarian efforts are prioritizing this issue of access to education for girls.

By improving coordination between the State Department, USAID, the private sector, and multilateral organizations, what this bill is going to do is to improve the chances that these young lives will be able to blossom above the ashes of war, above these conflicts that rage in these spots around the world, so that they might reach their full potential. If they do, they will be able to help the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask every Member for their support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1918) to oppose loans at international financial institutions for the Government of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, the world has watched with great concern, with mounting horror, actually, as Venezuela suffers economic ruin amid a potential crisis that has eroded democracy, and that threatens to destabilize the region. Meanwhile, less noticed, Nicaragua continues to violate the region's democratic values by failing to conduct fair and transparent elections and by denying Nicaraguans freedom of expression and freedom of association.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the leadership of chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen; and the chairman and ranking member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Mr. Duncan; and the ranking member, Mr. Sires, in bringing this measure to the floor.

This legislation will require U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to use the vote and influence of the United States to oppose any loans to Nicaragua unless the country has shown a willingness to respect the human and democratic rights of its citizens.

Nicaragua's authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, and that's the same Daniel Ortega who lost the Presidency in 1990, has tightened his grip on power by weakening government institutions and the opposition and ensuring power for himself and his family by excluding international election observers.

By requiring that the Secretary of State certify that Nicaragua has taken steps to provide election transparency and combat corruption before the United States votes to provide the Government of Nicaragua with loans, we help ensure that taxpayer money is not used to line the pockets of corrupt authoritarians, or to derail the legitimate democratic rights of the Nicaraguan citizens.

We need only to look to Venezuela to see that the consolidation of state power and organized crime and corruption actually go hand in hand. As a region, we must stand in strong opposition to authoritarianism and corruption in Nicaragua, while not punishing the people of Nicaragua. And it is this point of not punishing the people of Nicaragua that also we have to include in this measure; and for that reason, and because of this, the authors of the bill have insured a carve-out, and that carve-out exempts all loans that are for humanitarian purposes.

So this bill stands squarely with the people of Nicaragua and their hopes for freedom and democracy and the rule of law. Its passage is just one way that we can demonstrate this support. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the measure.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Financial Services,

Washington, DC, October 3, 2017.

Hon. Ed Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing concerning H.R. 1918, the

Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017, as

amended.

As a result of your having consulted with the Committee on

Financial Services concerning provisions in the bill that

fall within our Rule X jurisdiction, I agree to forgo action

on the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House

Floor. The Committee on Financial Services takes this action

with our mutual understanding that, by foregoing

consideration of H.R. 1918, as amended, at this time, we do

not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained

in this or similar legislation, and that our Committee will

be appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar

legislation moves forward so that we may address any

remaining issues that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction.

Our Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of

an appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation, and

requests your support for any such request.

Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter

confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 1918, as

amended, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters

on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during

floor consideration thereof.

Sincerely,

Jeb Hensarling,

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, and is the author of this legislation.

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important, when we consider the challenge that we have here, the Carter Center was involved in Nicaragua trying to oversee the election there. They came to the conclusion that the election was not transparent. The elections were not fair in Nicaragua.

The European Union was engaged in trying to monitor those elections. Again, the same conclusion.

The Organization of American States, it is the standard or it is the organization representing all of the governments in this hemisphere, they again raised the same issue.

When we think what we are trying to do here, the goal is, first, any loans that go to the benefit of the people of Nicaragua, that is exempt anyway. From the humanitarian standpoint, we want them to have the loans. But if we are going to make a loan that benefits the head of state or the government and, as part of that, we put the same conditions that the OAS puts on member loans, the same conditions that we put on other countries with respect to the rule of law or with respect to transparency and free and fair elections, I don't think that that is unusual in the least. As a matter of fact, those are the conditions we apply.

The attempt to focus on this and our frustration with it is to give that added boost, just as the Carter Center is trying to do, just as the European Union is trying to weigh in, just as the OAS is suggesting as we go forward that there be these reforms and transparency. I think it is proper that this institution does the same. I think the carve-out we put in the bill for humanitarian aid addresses the other issues.

So from that standpoint, I think it is necessary for us to do what we can at this time to nudge this back toward free and fair elections.

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

In summing up here, the focus of this legislation is clearly to seek to end a practice which many in the international community find a vexing one, and that is it tries to ensure that the loans that are given to the Government of Nicaragua meet certain democratic benchmarks before issuing any loans that would specifically benefit those in the government. There is a carve-out, as I shared, for any humanitarian loans.

I think the reason this approach has gained bipartisan support is because the United States, in this instance, will be engaged still, but engaged in a way where we are not encouraging corruption. I say that because it pushes Nicaragua to allow for free and transparent elections, and that should be our goal. That is the goal of other election observers who have been involved in the past and have expressed their concerns about the state of play there.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2061) to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, 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 include any extraneous material in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me point out that the world is rightly focused on the threat that North Korea poses to global security--the detonations, the missile launches, the forward-deployed artillery--that we have seen from across the border in South Korea.

I have been once to North Korea. I know my colleague, Eliot Engel, has been twice to the capital there. But going along the eastern coast--the eastern seaboard into North Korea--you can see the threat. You can see the artillery--the tanks, the Katyusha rockets, and the howitzers lined up--and you can see where they are aimed.

I think we have to maybe point out that the provocations underscore a simple, jarring fact, and that is that Kim Jong-un wants to pose a mortal threat, and not just to the United States, but to our democratic treaty allies--to South Korea and to Japan.

But I think, as we face that reality, we cannot afford to forget that the regime's greatest victims are the people of North Korea themselves. That is the longest held hostage here. And remembering that this is not just a moral imperative, but, also, it is a strategic one, too. If Kim Jong-un had to answer to the North Korean people, he would pose far less a danger to us, to South Korea, and to Japan. Maybe he would pose no danger whatsoever if he really had to answer to his own people.

The truth is that Kim Jong-un's most potent enemy is his own citizens, if they were to be empowered. The regime should be forced to confront the dismal reality that it has inflicted on its own population. Obsessed not just with self-preservation, but also with his concept of reunification of the peninsula--based on the words he uses-- under his own leadership, he and his father and his father's father have been willing to inflict starvation and stunting.

I asked Hwang Jang-yop, the former minister of propaganda--myself and one of my colleagues here had asked him--and he said that 2 million people had been starved by the regime. He said the real number was 1.9 million. And he said: You have to understand, we put all the resources into the weapons program, into the ICBM program, and into the nuclear capability. People fend for themselves basically. That is the system there. And when he defected, the propaganda minister shared that with us.

In the meantime, you will notice that there is one man in that system that feasts on imported luxuries and on liquor, and that is the deity himself. That is Kim Jong-un. The bonds of public affection for Kim certainly are strong in the capital, but, in the countryside, those who have defected tell me that they are so fragile that they can only be maintained with purges, with public executions, and with deadly prison camps.

It is no wonder, then, that the regime's harshest critics are escaped North Koreans who have seen through the wall of misinformation that Kim Jong-un works so hard to maintain. We have heard, time and again, from North Korean refugees about the indelible impact of real information from the outside world, whether it be defector broadcasts or pirated South Korean TV dramas set in the affluent bustling metropolis of Seoul.

Just last month, I was discussing these issues in Seoul with Thae Yong-ho, the highest ranking North Korean defector. The minister is the former ambassador to the U.K. Many of you read about his defection there in Britain. He is now in Seoul. He emphasized that such knowledge undermines the lie that North Korea is a worker's paradise and that it is the envy of the world.

Increasingly, he says, for 30-some dollars, a village or a family can purchase a device that plays these dramas from South Korea that come in from the porous border with China, and, as a result of that, they learn more. And, frankly, I will say that as a result of the two different organizations of defectors from North Korea who broadcast on shortwave, people are learning more as well. Our problem is that it needs to be broadcast beyond just the area around the border. We need to figure out how to help others hear the truth.

So, today, harnessing the power of information and public expectations inside North Korea is more important than ever. Along with enhanced sanctions on the regime's enablers, this is critical. It is a critical nonmilitary tool because it confronts the growing North Korean threat to our safety with a very different methodology by educating and empowering North Koreans themselves.

This bill, H.R. 2061, does not merely reauthorize activities under the North Korean Human Rights Act, but it enacts important updates to freedom-of-information authorities, to reflect technological advances beyond radio broadcasting, including USB drives, mobile devices, and other very promising tools. It also renews the obligations of the special envoy for North Korean human rights.

Finally, the bill enhances congressional oversight tools to help ensure that our investments stand the best chance of paying dividends in freedom for North Korea, and greater security for the rest of the world will be the result of this.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for authoring this bill. I also thank our ranking member, Eliot Engel, for his work on this issue. And I thank the chair and ranking member of our Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee as well, Ted

Yoho and Brad Sherman. The gentlewoman from Florida is tireless in her defense of human rights and has been a legislative leader on North Korea for more than a decade.

I am a proud cosponsor of this excellent bill, which deserves our unanimous support.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Among a number of amendments that he has contributed to this bill, there is one in particular that I think is very important, and that is increasing the number of tools that can be used here, to include new technologies to North Korea, like USB drives. It is a lot easier for people to watch on USB drives as well as, of course, mobile phones and DVDs.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel, also for his work on the original bill.

For a number of years, we have been focused in a bipartisan way, those of us who are concerned about human rights in North Korea. This is the reauthorization, but the original measure was to promote human rights and free information inside North Korea, and to focus on the protection of North Koreans who have fled the country and face a heightened risk of exploitation and human trafficking. We have been able to work on enforcement, but now with reauthorization, there is a chance to update it.

Those updates in H.R. 2061 not only reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act, but there are these promising new technological advances to pierce the information darkness, as Mr. Ted Yoho mentioned. That darkness is maintained intentionally by Kim Jong-un's regime. Confronted by a rapidly nuclearizing North Korea, these tools are more important than ever.

Rather than putting all of his energy into menacing the world, as he does with his nuclear program, Kim Jong-un must be confronted with the urgent needs, with the legitimate aspirations of the people of North Korea. There are 120,000 of his people that are in what we call these gulags across North Korea. Without reforms, these individuals are never going to see the light of day, they are never going to be released to freedom.

This critical bipartisan bill deserves our unanimous support.

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

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