Floor Statements

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again, I thank Mr. Sires for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 479) to require a report on the designation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, 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, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, last month, I was pleased to hear Secretary of State Rex Tillerson say that the State Department is considering a range of measures to respond to Kim Jong-un's dangerous provocations in Northeast Asia. One immediate step should be listing North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, a status it should have never lost.

In 2008, North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terror was rescinded following the regime's promise to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Well, North Korea got its delisting, but it kept its nuclear program, as proven by its fourth test and as proven by its fifth test last year.

Since 2008, not only has North Korea's nuclear weapons program advanced, so too has its support for terrorism. Let me explain that. The Kim regime has continued to supply surface-to-air missiles and explosives to terrorist groups like Hezbollah. In addition to that, the actions taken by North Korea include the firing of repeated rounds on South Korean civilians on the island of Yeonpyeong and carrying out targeted assassinations of North Korean defectors, including the recent assassination of Kim Jong-un's half brother, who had been living in exile.

Recall that this murder, which took place in broad daylight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, involved the use of VX nerve agent, which is a chemical weapon banned under international law. Now, a liter of this substance contains enough lethal doses to kill 1 million people. It has no other purpose than being an instrument of death. This they used to assassinate the President's own half brother.

Mr. Speaker, the Foreign Affairs Committee has focused extensively on the urgent threat by North Korea to the U.S. and our allies in Asia. It is critical that we use every tool at our disposal to ramp up the pressure on the Kim regime.

I know just how aggressive North Korea can be. I saw a ship of the South Korean Navy that had been lifted from the bottom of the sea. It had been split in two by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine. Over 40 South Korean sailors were killed in that attack.

This is the kind of behavior we have seen from Kim Jong-un. This is why I rise in support of Judge Ted Poe's bill, H.R. 479, which pushes the State Department to relist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The state sponsor of terrorism label is a very powerful one. In addition to imposing sanctions and other restrictions, the designation itself earns a state pariah status internationally. And that is deserved. After all, these are countries whose governments backed the killings of innocent people, innocent civilians, as a matter of policy.

Frankly, the Department should never have removed North Korea's designation in the first place.

I am glad that this legislation demands a reevaluation. I think I know what that result will be.

I thank the bill's author, Judge Ted Poe, who has a deep sense, as a former judge, of justice and has pursued this issue for a long time. I also thank the ranking member for working with our offices on this important and timely measure. The flawed delisting of North Korea has also been a particular focus to the chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and so I want to recognize her contributions as well.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, April 3, 2017.

Hon. Edward R. Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R. 479,

the ``North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act

of 2017.'' As a result of your having consulted with us on

provisions on which the Committee on Ways and Means has a

jurisdictional interest, I will not request a sequential

referral on this measure.

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. 479.

Sincerely,

Kevin Brady,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize the contribution here of Mr. Sherman, who is the ranking member on the committee, and to acknowledge also the force of his argument.

Kim Jong-un is an individual who not only kidnaps his neighbors, but also, in the past, this rogue regime has become expert at transferring the methods to kill civilians to other rogue regimes around the world. And based upon his past behavior, it is only too plausible that if they get this weapon, they will do it again.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, and the dogged author of this bill who has pushed this issue for a long time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and I thank the gentlewoman from Florida again for her contribution on this legislation.

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

I again want to thank Judge Poe for his determination to have North Korea labeled as a terrorist state. As Judge Poe notes, that is just the way it is.

With the passage of this bill today, we are going to take another step, I think, toward pushing back on that regime's destructive ambitions.

I think also it is worth noting that we have a recently published U.N. panel of experts on North Korea. They put out this report that says that North Korea continues to illicitly ship dual-use items to both Syria and Iran. Now, those are two terrorist regimes.

So I hope that the new administration will move quickly to relist North Korea and continue to seek ways to increase pressure on the regime through the sanctions bill that we passed out of here today and other measures.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor fallen Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer. He was killed in the line of duty on February 20, 2017, and his funeral was March 3, 2017.

Officer Boyer is the 5th law enforcement officer to be killed and the first officer fatality from the State of California in 2017. He was born Nov. 27, 1963, in San Gabriel. He graduated from La Serna High School in 1981, and earned a dispatcher course certificate from Golden West College in 1989. He grew up in his hometown of Whittier, where he would serve his community for 25 years.

As was pointed out in the Whittier Daily News, he `loved his job' because it gave him the opportunity to help people. Office Boyer received several commendations from the Department for his work, including the Chaplain's Award for his handling of a child abuse call in 2016. He served on Whittier's Crime Impact Team, the SWAT team, as a traffic officer, a school resource officer at La Serna High School, and as a K-9 handler.

Last year was the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. Today, the Memorial bears the names of over 20,000 federal, state, and local officers who have fallen while serving their communities. This year, Officer Boyer will be added to that wall.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Officer Boyer for his dedicated service and for making the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. I ask my colleagues in the House to join me in extending my sympathies to his family during this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, as required by clause 2(a) of House rule XI, I respectfully submit for the Congressional Record the rules of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which were adopted at a public meeting of the Committee on January 24, 2017.

1. General Provisions

(a) The Rules of the House of Representatives, and in

particular, the committee rules enumerated in clause 2 of

rule XI, are the rules of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(hereafter referred to as the ``Committee''), to the extent

applicable.

(b) A motion to recess and a motion to dispense with the

first reading (in full) of a bill or resolution, if printed

copies are available, are privileged non-debatable motions in

Committee.

(c) The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall

consult the Ranking Minority Member to the extent possible

with respect to the business of the Committee. Each

subcommittee of the Committee is a part of the Committee and

is subject to the authority and direction of the Committee

and to its rules, to the extent applicable.

2. Date of Meeting

The regular meeting date of the Committee shall be the

first Tuesday of every month when the House of

Representatives is in session pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule

XI of the House of Representatives. Additional meetings may

be called by the Chairman as the Chairman may deem necessary

or at the request of a majority of the Members of the

Committee in accordance with clause 2(c) of rule XI of the

House of Representatives. The determination of the business

to be considered at each meeting shall be made by the

Chairman subject to clause 2(c) of rule XI of the House of

Representatives. A regularly scheduled meeting need not be

held if, in the judgment of the Chairman, there is no

business to be considered.

3. Quorum

For purposes of taking testimony and receiving evidence,

two Members shall constitute a quorum, and the Chairman of

the full Committee or a subcommittee shall make every effort

to ensure that the relevant Ranking Minority Member or

another Minority Member is present at the time a hearing is

convened. One-third of the Members of the Committee or

subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for taking any action,

except: (1) reporting a measure or recommendation; (2)

closing Committee meetings and hearings to the public; (3)

authorizing the issuance of subpoenas; and (4) any other

action for which an actual majority quorum is required by any

rule of the House of Representatives or by law. No measure or

recommendation shall be reported to the House of

Representatives unless a majority of the Committee is

actually present. No measure or recommendation shall be

reported to the full Committee by a subcommittee unless half

of the subcommittee is actually present. A record vote may be

demanded by one-fifth of the Members present or, in the

apparent absence of a quorum, by any one Member.

4. Meetings and Hearings Open to the Public

(a) Meetings

(1) Each meeting for the transaction of business, including

the markup of legislation, of the Committee or a subcommittee

shall be open to the public except when the Committee or

subcommittee, in open session and with a majority present,

determines by record vote that all or part of the remainder

of the meeting on that day shall be closed to the public,

because disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger

national security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement

information, or would tend to defame, degrade or incriminate

any person or otherwise violate any labor rule of the House

of Representatives. No person other than Members of the

Committee and such congressional staff and departmental

representatives as the Committee or subcommittee may

authorize shall be present at any business or markup session

which has been closed to the public. This subsection does not

apply to open Committee hearings which are provided for by

subsection (b) of this rule.

(2) The Chairman of the full Committee or a subcommittee

may postpone further proceedings when a record vote is

ordered on the question of approving any measure or matter,

or adopting an amendment. The relevant Chairman may resume

proceedings on a postponed request at any time. When

exercising postponement authority, the relevant Chairman

shall take all reasonable steps necessary to notify Members

on the resumption of proceedings on any postponed record

vote. When proceedings resume on a postponed question,

notwithstanding any intervening order for the previous

question, an underlying proposition shall remain subject to

further debate or amendment to the same extent as when the

question was postponed.

(b) Hearings

(1) Each hearing conducted by the Committee or a

subcommittee shall be open to the public except when the

Committee or subcommittee, in open session and with a

majority present, determines by record vote that all or part

of the remainder of that hearing on that day should be closed

to the public because disclosure of testimony, evidence or

other matters to be considered would endanger the national

security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement

information, or otherwise would violate any law or rule of

the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding the preceding

sentence, a majority of those present, there being in

attendance the requisite number required under the rules of

the Committee to be present for the purpose of taking

testimony--

(A) may vote to close the hearing for the sole purpose of

discussing whether testimony or evidence to be received would

endanger the national security, would compromise sensitive

law enforcement information, or violate paragraph (2) of this

subsection; or

(B) may vote to close the hearing, as provided in paragraph

(2) of this subsection.

(2) Whenever it is asserted by a Member of the Committee

that the evidence or testimony at a hearing may tend to

defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, or it is asserted

by a witness that the evidence or testimony that the witness

would give at a hearing may tend to defame, degrade, or

incriminate the witness--

(A) such testimony or evidence shall be presented in

executive session, notwithstanding the provisions of

paragraph (1) of this subsection, if by a majority of those

present, there being in attendance the requisite number

required under the rules of the Committee to be present for

the purpose of taking testimony, the Committee or

subcommittee determines that such evidence or testimony may

tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person; and

(B) the Committee or subcommittee shall proceed to receive

such testimony in open session only if the Committee, a

majority being present, determines that such evidence or

testimony will not tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate

any person.

(3) No Member of the House of Representatives may be

excluded from non-participatory attendance at any hearing of

the Committee or a subcommittee unless the House of

Representatives has by majority vote authorized the Committee

or subcommittee, for purposes of a particular series of

hearings, on a particular article of legislation or on a

particular subject of investigation, to close its hearings to

Members by the same procedures designated in this subsection

for closing hearings to the public.

(4) A Member of the House of Representatives who is not a

Member of the Committee may not be recognized to participate

in a Committee or Subcommittee hearing except by the

unanimous consent of Committee Members present at such

hearing. Participatory recognition of a non-Committee Member

shall occur only after all Committee Members seeking

recognition, both majority and minority, have had their

opportunity to participate and question any witnesses.

(5) The Committee or a subcommittee may by the procedure

designated in this subsection vote to close one (1)

subsequent day of hearing.

(6) No congressional staff shall be present at any meeting

or hearing of the Committee or a subcommittee that has been

closed to the public, and at which classified information

will be involved, unless such person is authorized access to

such classified information in accordance with rule XX of the

House of Representatives.

5. Convening Hearings and Markups

(a) Hearings. Public announcement shall be made of the

date, place, and subject matter of any hearing to be

conducted by the Committee or a subcommittee at the earliest

possible date, and in any event at least one (1) week before

the commencement of that hearing. If the Chairman of the full

Committee or a subcommittee, with the concurrence of the

relevant Ranking Minority Member, determines that there is

good cause to begin a hearing sooner, or if the Committee or

subcommittee so determines by majority vote in the presence

of the number of members required under the rules of the

Committee for the taking of action, the Chairman of the full

Committee, if concurring, shall make the announcement at the

earliest possible date. No change shall be made to a publicly

announced hearing title

until after consultation with the relevant Ranking Minority

Member and notice to previously announced witnesses.

(b) Markups and Other Meetings to Transact Business

(1) Convening. The Chairman of the full Committee or a

subcommittee may call or convene, as the relevant Chairman

considers necessary, meetings of the Committee or

subcommittee for the consideration of a bill or resolution

pending before the Committee or subcommittee, as the case may

be, or for the conduct of other Committee or subcommittee

business.

(2) Notice. Public announcement shall be made by the

Chairman of the full Committee of the date, place, and

subject matter of any markup or other meeting to conduct

business at the earliest possible date, and in any event at

least one (1) week before the commencement of such markup or

meeting, unless the relevant Chairman determines, in

consultation with the relevant Ranking Minority Member, that

there is good cause to begin such a markup or meeting on an

earlier date. If such determination is made, the Chairman of

the full Committee, if concurring in that determination,

shall make the announcement at the earliest possible date.

(3) Agenda and Texts. The relevant Chairman shall provide

to all Committee or subcommittee Members an agenda for each

Committee and subcommittee markup or other meeting to

transact business, setting out all items of business to be

considered, including whenever possible a copy of any measure

scheduled for markup, at least 48 hours (excluding Saturdays,

Sundays, and legal holidays) before the meeting.

Bills on subjects not listed on such agenda shall be

subject to a point of order unless their consideration is

agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the Committee or

subcommittee, or by the Chairman of the full Committee with

the concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member. The text of

any measure to be marked up shall be made publicly available

in electronic form at least 24 hours prior to the

commencement of the markup meeting, or at the time of an

announcement under subparagraph (b)(2) made within 24 hours

before such meeting.

(c) Publication. Public announcement of all hearings and

markups shall be published in the Daily Digest portion of the

Congressional Record and made publicly available in

electronic form, Members shall be notified by the Staff

Director of all meetings (including markups and hearings) and

briefings of subcommittees and of the full Committee.

(d) Member Seating. During Committee and subcommittee

hearings and markups, chairs on the dais are for Members. No

staff member other than a Committee or subcommittee staff

director, counsel, or professional staff member may occupy a

chair on the dais, unless authorized by the Chairman of the

full Committee, after consultation with the Ranking Member of

the Full Committee. Only one staff member each from the

majority and the minority may occupy chairs on the dais at

any time during a hearing or markup.

6. Witnesses

(a) Interrogation of Witnesses

(1) In so far as practicable, witnesses shall be permitted

to present their oral statements without interruption subject

to reasonable time constraints imposed by the Chairman of the

full Committee or a subcommittee, with questioning by the

Committee Members taking place afterward. Members should

refrain from questions until such statements are completed.

(2) In recognizing Members, the relevant Chairman shall, to

the extent practicable, give preference to the Members on the

basis of their arrival at the hearing, taking into

consideration the majority and minority ratio of the Members

actually present. A Member desiring to speak or ask a

question shall address the relevant Chairman and not the

witness.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), each Member may interrogate

the witness for 5 minutes, the reply of the witness being

included in the 5-minute period. After all Members have had

an opportunity to ask questions, the round shall begin again

under the 5-minute rule.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), the relevant Chairman,

with the concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member, may

permit one (1) or more majority Members of the Committee

designated by the relevant Chairman to question a witness for

a specified period of not longer than 30 minutes. On such

occasions, an equal number of minority Members of the

Committee designated by the Ranking Minority Member shall be

permitted to question the same witness for the same period of

time. Committee staff may be permitted to question a witness

for equal specified periods either with the concurrence of

the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the full

Committee or by motion. However, in no case may questioning

by Committee staff proceed before each Member of the

Committee who wishes to speak under the 5-minute rule has had

one opportunity to do so.

(b) Testimony of Witnesses

(1) Advance Filing Requirement. Each witness who is to

appear before the Committee or a subcommittee is required to

file testimony with the Committee or subcommittee at least

two (2) business days in advance of that appearance. For

purposes of this subsection, testimony includes the written

statement of a witness, as well as any video, photographs,

audio-visual matter, posters, or other supporting materials

that the witness intends to present or display before the

Committee. Such testimony should be provided in electronic

form to the extent practicable. The Committee or subcommittee

shall notify Members at least two business days in advance of

a hearing of the availability of testimony submitted by

witnesses. In addition, each witness shall provide sufficient

copies, as determined by the Chairman of the full Committee

or a subcommittee, of his or her proposed written statement

to be provided to Members and staff of the Committee or

subcommittee, the news media, and the general public. The

text of the written statement provided pursuant to this

paragraph shall be considered final, and may not be revised

by the witness after the Committee meeting at which the

witness appears.

(2) Witness Preclusion and Waiver. The requirements of

paragraph (1) or any part thereof may be waived by the

Chairman of the full Committee or a subcommittee, or the

presiding Member, or the Ranking Member of the Committee or

subcommittee as it relates to witnesses who are called by the

minority to testify, provided that the witness or the

relevant Chairman or Ranking Minority Member has submitted,

prior to the witness's appearance, a written explanation to

the reasons testimony has not been made available to the

Committee or subcommittee. If a witness who is not an

official of the U.S. Government has not submitted testimony

as required by paragraph (1) and no such written explanation

has been submitted, the witness shall be released from

testifying unless a majority of the Committee or subcommittee

votes to accept his or her testimony.

(3) Remote Witness Participation. The Chairman of the full

Committee or a subcommittee shall promptly, and not later

than 48 hours beforehand if possible, notify the relevant

Ranking Member of any witness who is likely to present

testimony other than in person, such as by videoconference. A

witness may not testify via telephone or other audio-only

medium without the concurrence of the Chairman and Ranking

Member of the Committee or subcommittee. The relevant

Chairman shall make reasonable efforts to verify the identity

of any witness participating remotely.

(4) `Truth In Testimony' Disclosure. In the case of a

witness appearing in a nongovernmental capacity, a written

statement of proposed testimony shall, to the extent

practicable, include: a curriculum vitae; a disclosure of the

amount and source of any Federal grant (or subgrant thereof)

or contract (or subcontract thereof), or of any contract or

payment originating with a foreign government, received

during the current fiscal year or either of the two previous

fiscal years by the witness or by an entity represented by

the witness, to the extent that such information is relevant

to the subject matter of, and the witness' representational

capacity at, the hearing; and a disclosure of whether the

witness is an active registrant under the Foreign Agents

Registration Act (FARA). Such statements, with appropriate

redactions to protect the privacy, safety, or security of the

witness, shall be made publicly available in electronic form

not later than one day after the witness appears.

(5) Witness Presentation. A witness shall limit his or her

oral presentation to a brief summary of his or her written

statement.

(6) Translation. A witness requiring an interpreter or

translator should include in the testimony provided pursuant

to paragraph (1) the identity of the interpreter or

translator that the witness intends to use. Unless properly

noticed as a separate witness, an interpreter or translator

appearing before the Committee should not present views or

statements other than those expressed by the witness.

(c) Oaths. The Chairman of the full Committee or a

subcommittee, or any Member of the Committee designated by

the relevant Chairman, may administer oaths to any witness

appearing before the Committee.

7. Preparation and Maintenance of Committee Records

An accurate stenographic record shall be made of all

hearings and markup sessions. Members of the Committee and

any witness may examine the transcript of his or her own

remarks and may make any grammatical or technical changes

that do not substantively alter the record. Any such Member

or witness shall return the transcript to the Committee

offices within seven (7) calendar days (not including

Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after receipt of the

transcript, or as soon thereafter as is practicable.

Any information supplied for the record at the request of a

Member of the Committee shall be provided to the Member when

received by the Committee.

Transcripts of hearings and markup sessions (except for the

record of a meeting or hearing which is closed to the public)

shall be printed as soon as is practicable after receipt of

the corrected versions, except that the Chairman may order

the transcript of a hearing to be printed without the

corrections of a Member or witness if the Chairman determines

that such Member or witness has been afforded a reasonable

time to correct such transcript and such transcript has not

been returned within such time.

The records of the Committee at the National Archives and

Records Administration shall be made available for public use

in accordance with rule VII of the House of Representatives.

The Chairman shall notify the Ranking Minority Member of any

decision, pursuant to clause 3(b)(3) or clause 4(b) of

the rule, to withhold a record otherwise available, and the

matter shall be presented to the Committee for a

determination on the written request of any Member of the

Committee.

The Committee shall, to the maximum extent feasible, make

its publications available in electronic form.

8. Extraneous Materials in Committee Hearings Prints

No extraneous material shall be printed in either the body

or appendices of any Committee or subcommittee hearing,

except matter which has been accepted for inclusion in the

record during the hearing or by agreement of the Chairman of

the full Committee or a subcommittee and Ranking Minority

Member of the Committee or subcommittee within five (5)

calendar days of the hearing. Copies of bills and other

legislation under consideration and responses to written

questions submitted by Members shall not be considered

extraneous material.

Extraneous material in either the body or appendices of any

hearing to be printed which would be in excess of eight (8)

printed pages (for any one submission) shall be accompanied

by a written request to the relevant Chairman. Such written

request shall contain an estimate in writing from the Public

Printer of the probable cost of publishing such material.

9. Information on Committee Action

(a) Record Votes. The result of each record vote in any

meeting of the Committee outside of executive session shall

be made publicly available in electronic form within 48 hours

of such record vote. Such result shall include a description

of the amendment, motion, order, or other proposition, the

name of each Member voting for and against, and the Members

present but not voting.

(b) Adopted Amendments. Not later than 24 hours after the

adoption of any amendment to a measure or matter considered

by the Committee, the text of each such amendment shall be

made publicly available in electronic form.

(c) Hearing and Markup Attendance. Member attendance at

each Committee hearing and markup shall be recorded and

included in the Committee print of the transcript of that

hearing or markup.

10. Proxies

Proxy Voting is not Permitted in the Committee or in

Subcommittees.

11. Reports

(a) Reports on Bills and Resolutions. To the extent

practicable, not later than 24 hours before a report is to be

filed with the Clerk of the House on a measure that has been

ordered reported by the Committee, the Chairman shall make

available for inspection by all Members of the Committee a

copy of the draft Committee report in order to afford Members

adequate information and the opportunity to draft and file

any supplemental, minority or additional views which they may

deem appropriate.

With respect to each record vote on a motion to report any

measure or matter of a public character, and on any amendment

offered to the measure or matter, the total number of votes

cast for and against, and the names of those Members voting

for and against, shall be included in any Committee report on

the measure or matter.

(b) Prior Approval of Certain Reports. No Committee,

subcommittee, or staff report, study, or other document which

purports to express publicly the views, findings,

conclusions, or recommendations of the Committee or a

subcommittee may be released to the public or filed with the

Clerk of the House unless approved by a majority of the

Committee or subcommittee, as appropriate. A proposed

investigative or oversight report shall be considered as read

if it has been available to Members of the Committee for at

least 24 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal

holidays except when the House is in session on such a day).

In any case in which clause 2(1) of rule XI and clause

3(a)(1) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives does not

apply, each Member of the Committee or subcommittee shall be

given an opportunity to have views or a disclaimer included

as part of the material filed or released, as the case may

be.

(c) Foreign Travel Reports. At the same time that the

report required by clause 8(b)(3) of rule X of the House of

Representatives, regarding foreign travel reports, is

submitted to the Chairman, Members and employees of the

Committee shall provide a report to the Chairman listing all

official meetings, interviews, inspection tours and other

official functions in which the individual participated, by

country and date. Under extraordinary circumstances, the

Chairman may waive the listing in such report of an official

meeting, interview, inspection tour, or other official

function. The report shall be maintained in the Committee

offices and shall be available for public inspection during

normal business hours. Except in extraordinary circumstances,

no Member or employee of the Committee will be authorized for

additional Committee travel until the reports described in

this subsection have been submitted to the Chairman for that

person's prior Committee travel.

12. Reporting Bills and Resolutions

Except in extraordinary circumstances, bills and

resolutions will not be considered by the Committee unless

and until the appropriate subcommittee has recommended the

bill or resolution for Committee action, and will not be

taken to the House of Representatives for action unless and

until the Committee or a relevant subcommittee has ordered

reported such bill or resolution, a quorum being present.

Except in extraordinary circumstances, a bill or resolution

originating in the House of Representatives that contains

exclusively findings and policy declarations or expressions

of the sense of the House of Representatives or the sense of

the Congress shall not be considered by the Committee or a

subcommittee unless such bill or resolution has at least 25

House co-sponsors, at least 10 of whom are Members of the

Committee.

For purposes of this rule, extraordinary circumstances will

be determined by the Chairman, after consultation with the

Ranking Minority Member and such other Members of the

Committee as the Chairman deems appropriate.

The Committee or a subcommittee shall not consider a bill

or resolution originating in the House of Representatives

that expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates,

celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates

the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual,

institution, team, or government program, or that

acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such

purposes, except in circumstances determined by the Chairman

with the concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member.

The Chairman is directed to offer a motion under clause 1

of rule XXII of the Rules of the House whenever the Chairman

considers it appropriate.

13. Staff Services

The Committee staff shall be selected and organized so that

it can provide a comprehensive range of professional services

in the field of foreign affairs to the Committee, the

subcommittees, and all its Members. The staff shall include

persons with training and experience in foreign affairs,

making available to the Committee individuals with knowledge

of major countries, areas, and U.S. overseas programs and

operations.

Subject to clause 9 of rule X of the House of

Representatives, the staff of the Committee, except as

provided in paragraph (c), shall be appointed, and may be

removed, by the Chairman with the approval of the majority of

the Members in the majority party of the Committee. Their

remuneration shall be fixed by the Chairman, and they shall

work under the general supervision and direction of the

Chairman. Staff assignments are to be authorized by the

Chairman or by the Staff Director under the direction of the

Chairman.

Subject to clause 9 of rule X of the House of

Representatives, the staff of the Committee assigned to the

minority shall be appointed, their remuneration determined,

and may be removed, by the Ranking Minority Member with the

approval of the majority of the minority party Members of the

Committee. Such staff shall work under the general

supervision and direction of the Ranking Minority Member with

the approval or consultation of the minority Members of the

Committee.

The Chairman shall ensure that sufficient staff is made

available to each subcommittee to carry out its

responsibilities under the rules of the Committee. The

Chairman shall ensure that the minority party is fairly

treated in the appointment of such staff.

14. Number and Jurisdiction of Subcommittees

(a) Full Committee. The full Committee will be responsible

for oversight and legislation relating to: foreign assistance

(including development assistance, Millennium Challenge

Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Account, HIV/AIDS in

foreign countries, security assistance, and Public Law 480

programs abroad); national security developments affecting

foreign policy; strategic planning and agreements; war

powers, treaties, executive agreements, and the deployment

and use of United States Armed Forces; peacekeeping, peace

enforcement, and enforcement of United Nations or other

international sanctions; arms control and disarmament issues;

the United States Agency for International Development;

activities and policies of the State, Commerce, and Defense

Departments and other agencies related to the Arms Export

Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, including export

and licensing policy for munitions items and technology and

dual-use equipment and technology; international law;

promotion of democracy; international law enforcement issues,

including narcotics control programs and activities;

Broadcasting Board of Governors; embassy security;

international broadcasting; public diplomacy, including

international communication and information policy, and

international education and exchange programs; and all other

matters not specifically assigned to a subcommittee. The full

Committee will have jurisdiction over legislation with

respect to the administration of the Export Administration

Act, including the export and licensing of dual-use equipment

and technology and other matters related to international

economic policy and trade not otherwise assigned to a

subcommittee, and with respect to the United Nations, its

affiliated agencies, and other international organizations,

including assessed and voluntary contributions to such

organizations. The full Committee may conduct oversight and

investigations with respect to any matter within the

jurisdiction of the Committee as defined in the Rules of the

House of Representatives.

(b) Subcommittees. There shall be six (6) standing

subcommittees. The names and jurisdiction of those

subcommittees shall be as follows:

(1) Functional Subcommittee. There shall be one

subcommittee with functional jurisdiction:

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade:

Oversight and legislative responsibilities over the United

States' efforts to manage and coordinate international

programs to combat terrorism as coordinated by the Department

of State and other agencies, and efforts to bring

international terrorists to justice. With the concurrence of

the Chairman of the full Committee, oversight of, and

legislation pertaining to, nonproliferation matters involving

nuclear, chemical, biological and other weapons of mass

destruction, except for legislation involving the Foreign

Assistance Act, the Arms Export Control Act, the Export

Administration Act, and sanctions laws pertaining to

individual countries and the provision of foreign assistance

(which is reserved to the full Committee). Oversight of

matters relating to international economic and trade policy;

commerce with foreign countries; international investment

policy; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the

Trade and Development Agency; commodity agreements; and

special oversight of international financial and monetary

institutions; the Export-Import Bank, and customs. With the

concurrence of the Chairman of the full Committee,

legislative jurisdiction over measures related to export

promotion and measures related to the Overseas Private

Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency.

(2) Regional Subcommittees. There shall be five

subcommittees with regional jurisdiction: the Subcommittee on

Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International

Organizations; the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific; the

Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats; the

Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa; and the

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. As detailed below,

two of the regional subcommittees also shall have functional

jurisdiction.

The regional subcommittees shall have jurisdiction over the

following within their respective regions:

(1) Matters affecting the political relations between the

United States and other countries and regions, including

resolutions or other legislative measures directed to such

relations.

(2) Legislation with respect to disaster assistance outside

the Foreign Assistance Act, boundary issues, and

international claims.

(3) Legislation with respect to region- or country-specific

loans or other financial relations outside the Foreign

Assistance Act.

(4) Legislation and oversight regarding human rights

practices in particular countries.

(5) Oversight of regional lending institutions.

(6) Oversight of matters related to the regional activities

of the United Nations, of its affiliated agencies, and of

other multilateral institutions.

(7) Identification and development of options for meeting

future problems and issues relating to U.S. interests in the

region.

(8) Oversight of base rights and other facilities access

agreements and regional security pacts.

(9) Concurrent oversight jurisdiction with respect to

matters assigned to the functional subcommittees insofar as

they may affect the region.

(10) Oversight of foreign assistance activities affecting

the region, with the concurrence of the Chairman of the full

Committee.

(11) Such other matters as the Chairman of the full

Committee may determine.

The Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human

Rights, and International Organizations: In addition to its

regional jurisdiction, oversight of: international health

issues, including transboundary infectious diseases, maternal

health and child survival, and programs related to the global

ability to address health issues; population issues; the

United Nations and its affiliated agencies (excluding

peacekeeping and enforcement of United Nations or other

international sanctions); the American Red Cross; and the

Peace Corps. In addition, legislation and oversight

pertaining to: implementation of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights; other matters relating to internationally-

recognized human rights, including legislation aimed at the

promotion of human rights and democracy generally; and the

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child

Abduction, and related issues.

The Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats:

In addition to its regional jurisdiction, with the

concurrence of the Chairman of the full Committee, oversight

related to emerging foreign threats to the national security

and interests of the United States.

15. Powers and Duties of Subcommittees

(a) In General. Each subcommittee is authorized to meet,

hold hearings, receive evidence, and report to the full

Committee on all matters referred to it.

(b) Scheduling. Subcommittee chairmen shall set meeting

dates after consultation with the Chairman, other

subcommittee chairmen, the relevant Ranking Minority Member

and other appropriate Members, with a view toward minimizing

scheduling conflicts. Subcommittee meetings shall not be

scheduled to occur simultaneously with meetings of the full

Committee. Hearings shall not be scheduled to occur prior to

the first vote or subsequent to the last vote of a

legislative week, or outside of Washington, D.C., without

prior consultation with the relevant Ranking Minority Member.

In order to ensure orderly administration and fair assignment

of hearing and meeting rooms, the subject, time, and location

of hearings and meetings shall be arranged in advance with

the Chairman through the Staff Director of the Committee.

(c) Vice Chairmen. The Chairman of the Full Committee shall

designate a Member of the majority party on each subcommittee

as its vice chairman.

(d) Participation. The Chairman of the full Committee and

the Ranking Minority Member may attend the meetings and

participate in the activities of all subcommittees of which

they are not Members, except that they may not vote or be

counted for a quorum in such subcommittees.

(e) Required Oversight Hearings. During each 180-day period

following organization of the Committee, each subcommittee

shall hold at least one hearing on oversight of U.S.

Government activities.

16. Referral of Bills by Chairman

In accordance with rule 14 of the Committee and to the

extent practicable, all legislation and other matters

referred to the Committee shall be referred by the Chairman

to a subcommittee of primary jurisdiction within two (2)

weeks. In accordance with rule 14 of the Committee,

legislation may also be referred to additional subcommittees

for consideration. Unless otherwise directed by the Chairman,

such subcommittees shall act on or be discharged from

consideration of legislation that has been approved by the

subcommittee of primary jurisdiction within two (2) weeks of

such action. In referring any legislation to a subcommittee,

the Chairman may specify a date by which the subcommittee

shall report thereon to the full Committee.

Subcommittees with regional jurisdiction shall have joint

jurisdiction with the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,

Global Human Rights, and International Organizations over

legislation regarding human rights practices in particular

countries within their regions.

The Chairman may designate a subcommittee Chairman or other

Member to take responsibility as manager of a bill or

resolution during its consideration in the House of

Representatives.

17. Party Ratios on Subcommittees and Conference Committees

The majority party caucus of the Committee shall determine

an appropriate ratio of majority to minority party Members

for each subcommittee. Party representation on each

subcommittee or conference committee shall be no less

favorable to the majority party than the ratio for the full

Committee. The Chairman and the Ranking Minority Member are

authorized to negotiate matters affecting such ratios

including the size of subcommittees and conference

committees.

18. Subcommittee Funding and Records

Each subcommittee shall have adequate funds to discharge

its responsibility for legislation and oversight.

In order to facilitate Committee compliance with clause

2(e)(1) of rule XI of the House of Representatives, each

subcommittee shall keep a complete record of all subcommittee

actions which shall include a record of the votes on any

question on which a record vote is demanded. The result of

each record vote shall be promptly made available to the full

Committee for inspection by the public in accordance with

rule 9 of the Committee.

All subcommittee hearings, records, data, charts, and files

shall be kept distinct from the congressional office records

of the Member serving as Chairman of the subcommittee.

Subcommittee records shall be coordinated with the records of

the full Committee, shall be the property of the House, and

all Members of the House shall have access thereto.

19. Meetings of Subcommittee Chairmen

The Chairman shall call a meeting of the subcommittee

chairmen on a regular basis not less frequently than once a

month. Such a meeting need not be held if there is no

business to conduct. It shall be the practice at such

meetings to review the current agenda and activities of each

of the subcommittees.

20. Access to Classified Information

(a) Authorized Persons. In accordance with the stipulations

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, all Members of

the House who have executed the oath required by clause 13 of

rule XXIII of the House of Representatives shall be

authorized to have access to classified information within

the possession of the Committee.

Members of the Committee staff shall be considered

authorized to have access to classified information within

the possession of the Committee when they have the proper

security clearances, when they have executed the oath

required by clause 13 of rule XXIII of the House of

Representatives, and when they have a demonstrable need to

know. The decision on whether a given staff member has a need

to know will be made on the following basis:

(1) In the case of the full Committee majority staff, by

the Chairman, acting through the Staff Director;

(2) In the case of the full Committee minority staff, by

the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee, acting through

the Minority Staff Director;

(3) In the case of subcommittee majority staff, by the

chairman of the subcommittee;

(4) In the case of the subcommittee minority staff, by the

Ranking Minority Member of the subcommittee.

No other individuals shall be considered authorized

persons, unless so designated by the Chairman of the full

Committee.

(b) Designated Persons. Each Committee Member is permitted

to designate one member of his or her staff as having the

right of access to information classified Confidential. Such

designated persons must have the proper security clearance,

have executed the oath required by clause 13 of rule XXIII of

the House of Representatives, and have a need to know as

determined by his or her principal. Upon request of a

Committee Member in specific instances, a designated person

also shall be permitted access to information classified

Secret which has been furnished to the Committee pursuant to

section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended. Upon

the written request of a Committee Member and with the

approval of the Chairman in specific instances, a designated

person may be permitted access to other classified materials.

Designation of a staff person shall be by letter from the

Committee Member to the Chairman.

(c) Location. Classified information will be stored in

secure safes in the Office of the Security Officer and in the

Office of the Minority Staff Director. All materials

classified Top Secret or higher must be stored in a Secure

Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF).

(d) Handling. Materials classified Confidential or Secret

may be taken from Committee offices to other Committee

offices and hearing rooms by Members of the Committee and

authorized Committee staff in connection with hearings and

briefings of the Committee or its subcommittees for which

such information is deemed to be essential. Removal of such

information from the Committee offices shall be only with the

permission of the Chairman under procedures designed to

ensure the safe handling and storage of such information at

all times. Except as provided in this paragraph, Top Secret

materials may not be taken from approved storage areas for

any purpose, except that such materials may be taken to

hearings and other meetings that are being conducted at the

Top Secret level when necessary. Materials classified Top

Secret may otherwise be used under conditions approved by the

Chairman after consultation with the Ranking Minority Member.

(e) Notice. Appropriate notice of the receipt of classified

documents received by the Committee from the Executive Branch

will be sent promptly to Committee Members through the Survey

of Activities or by other means.

(f) Access. Except as provided for above, access to

materials classified Top Secret or otherwise restricted held

by the Committee will be in approved Committee spaces. The

following procedures will be observed:

(1) Authorized persons will be permitted access to

classified documents after inquiring of the Staff Director or

an assigned staff member. Access to the SCIF will be afforded

during regular Committee hours.

(2) Authorized persons will be required to identify

themselves, to identify the documents or information they

wish to view, and to sign the Classified Materials Log, which

is kept with the classified information.

(3) The assigned staff member will be responsible for

maintaining a log which identifies: (1) authorized persons

seeking access, (2) the classified information requested, and

(3) the time of arrival and departure of such persons. The

assigned staff member will also assure that the classified

materials are returned to the proper location.

(g) Divulgence. Classified information provided to the

Committee by the Executive Branch shall be handled in

accordance with the procedures that apply within the

Executive Branch for the protection of such information. Any

classified information to which access has been gained

through the Committee may not be divulged to any unauthorized

person. Classified material shall not be photocopied or

otherwise reproduced. In no event shall classified

information be discussed in a non-secure environment.

Apparent violations of this rule should be reported as

promptly as possible to the Chairman for appropriate action.

(h) Other Regulations. The Chairman, after consultation

with the Ranking Minority Member, may establish such

additional regulations and procedures as in his judgment may

be necessary to safeguard classified information under the

control of the Committee. Members of the Committee will be

given notice of any such regulations and procedures promptly.

They may be modified or waived in any or all particulars by a

majority vote of the full Committee.

21. Broadcasting of Committee Hearings and Meetings

All Committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings which

are open to the public may be covered, in whole or in part,

by television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still

photography, or by any such methods of coverage in accordance

with the provisions of clause 3 of House rule XI.

The Chairman of the full Committee or a subcommittee shall

determine, in his or her discretion, the number of television

and still cameras permitted in a hearing or meeting room, but

shall not limit the number of television or still cameras to

fewer than two (2) representatives from each medium.

Such coverage shall be in accordance with the following

requirements contained in section 116(b) of the Legislative

Reorganization Act of 1970, and clause 4 of XI of the Rules

of the House of Representatives:

(a) If the television, Internet or radio coverage of the

hearing or meeting is to be presented to the public as live

coverage, that coverage shall be conducted and presented

without commercial sponsorship.

(b) No witness served with a subpoena by the Committee

shall be required against his will to be photographed at any

hearing or to give evidence or testimony while the

broadcasting of that hearing, by radio or television is being

conducted. At the request of any such witness who does not

wish to be subjected to radio, television, Internet or still

photography coverage, all lenses shall be covered and all

microphones used for coverage turned off. This subparagraph

is supplementary to clause 2(k)(5) of rule XI of the Rules of

the House of Representatives relating to the protection of

the rights of witnesses.

(c) The allocation among cameras permitted by the Chairman

of the full Committee or a subcommittee in a hearing room

shall be in accordance with fair and equitable procedures

devised by the Executive Committee of the Radio and

Television Correspondents' Galleries.

(d) Television cameras shall be placed so as not to

obstruct in any way the space between any witness giving

evidence or testimony and Member of the Committee or its

subcommittees or the visibility of that witness and that

Member to each other.

(e) Television cameras shall operate from fixed positions

but shall not be placed in positions which obstruct

unnecessarily the coverage of the hearing by the other media.

(f) Equipment necessary for coverage by the television and

radio media shall not be installed in, or removed from, the

hearing or meeting room while the Committee or subcommittee

is in session.

(g) Floodlights, spotlights, strobe lights, and flashguns

shall not be used in providing any method of coverage of the

hearing or meeting, except that the television media may

install additional lighting in the hearing room, without cost

to the Government, in order to raise the ambient lighting

level in the hearing room to the lowest level necessary to

provide adequate television coverage of the hearing or

meeting at the current state-of-the-art level of television

coverage.

(h) In the allocation of the number of still photographers

permitted by the Chairman of the full Committee or a

subcommittee in a hearing or meeting room, preference shall

be given to photographers from Associated Press Photos,

United Press International News pictures, and Reuters. If

requests are made by more of the media than will be permitted

by the Chairman of the full Committee or a subcommittee for

coverage of the hearing or meeting by still photography, that

coverage shall be made on the basis of a fair and equitable

pool arrangement devised by the Standing Committee of Press

Photographers.

(i) Photographers shall not position themselves, at any

time during the course of the hearing or meeting, between the

witness table and the Members of the Committee or its

subcommittees.

(j) Photographers shall not place themselves in positions

which obstruct unnecessarily the coverage of the hearing by

the other media.

(k) Personnel providing coverage by the television and

radio media shall be currently accredited to the Radio and

Television Correspondents' Galleries.

(1) Personnel providing coverage by still photography shall

be currently accredited to the Press Photographers' Gallery

Committee of Press Photographers.

(m) Personnel providing coverage by the television and

radio media and by still photography shall conduct themselves

and their coverage activities in an orderly and unobtrusive

manner.

22. Subpoena Powers

A subpoena may be authorized and issued by the Chairman, in

accordance with clause 2(m) of rule XI of the House of

Representatives, in the conduct of any investigation or

activity or series of investigations or activities within the

jurisdiction of the Committee, following consultation with

the Ranking Minority Member.

In addition, a subpoena may be authorized and issued by the

Committee or its subcommittees in accordance with clause 2(m)

of rule XI of the House of Representatives, in the conduct of

any investigation or activity or series of investigations or

activities, when authorized by a majority of the Members

voting, a majority of the Committee or subcommittee being

present.

Authorized subpoenas shall be signed by the Chairman or by

any Member designated by the Committee.

23. Recommendation for Appointment of Conferees

Whenever the Speaker is to appoint a conference committee,

the Chairman shall recommend to the Speaker as conferees

those Members of the Committee who are primarily responsible

for the legislation (including to the full extent practicable

the principal proponents of the major provisions of the bill

as it passed the House), who have actively participated in

the Committee or subcommittee consideration of the

legislation, and who agree to attend the meetings of the

conference. With regard to the appointment of minority

Members, the Chairman shall consult with the Ranking Minority

Member.

24. General Oversight

Not later than February 15th of the first session of a

Congress, the Committee shall meet in open session, with a

quorum present, to adopt its oversight plans for that

Congress for submission to the Committee on House

Administration and the Committee on Oversight and Government

Reform, in accordance with the provisions of clause 2(d) of

rule X of the House of Representatives.

In accordance with the provisions of clause 2(n) of rule XI

of the House of Representatives, the Committee or a

subcommittee thereof shall hold at least one hearing during

each 120-day period following its establishment on the topic

of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in programs within

its jurisdiction, as documented in reports received from a

Federal Office of the Inspector General or the Comptroller

General of the United States that have been provided to the

Ranking Minority Member prior to the notice of the hearing

pursuant to Committee rule 5.

25. Other Procedures and Regulations

The Chairman, in consultation with the Ranking Minority

Member, may establish such other procedures and take such

actions as may be necessary to carry out the foregoing rules

or to facilitate the effective operation of the Committee.

Any additional procedures or regulations may be modified or

rescinded in any or all particulars by a majority vote of the

full Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 600) to promote Internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy toward the Internet, and for other purposes.

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

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

Today, more than 60 percent of the world's population lacks access to broadband, lacks access to the Internet. That means 3 billion people have been left out of the biggest technological revolution of our time. Three billion people are being denied the benefits of the free flow of information and game-changing innovations in health, education, and commerce; and 3 billion consumers remain out of the reach of American goods and services.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by this digital gap, despite serving as the principal consumers, caregivers, educators, peacemakers, and income earners across the developing world. Bringing women online is going to deepen the benefit of existing investments in governance and global health, and it is going to accelerate economic growth.

So this bill closes that digital gap. It promotes efforts by developing countries to accelerate Internet deployment through the standardization of cost-effective, build-once policies. It partners with the private sector, and it creates a favorable investment climate.

At the same time, it reduces duplication of effort among U.S. Government agencies by demanding improved interagency coordination and collaboration with the private sector. And it calls on the State Department to consolidate the responsibilities held by three separate coordinators for cyber policy, technology, and information under a single Assistant Secretary for Cyberspace.

So let me explain something here, Mr. Speaker, if the U.S. Agency for International Development is helping

to finance the construction of a rural road in Ghana, the private sector should be invited to lay down broadband conduit before the concrete is poured, obviously. Why dig the same road twice? The bottom line is that, as this infrastructure expansion is going on right now, we have the ability to get the private sector in to lay that broadband, and that is what this bill does. It is smart economics, smart development. It advances key U.S. values. And, frankly, it is good for American industry as well.

So I thank my cosponsors--Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Eliot Engel, and Grace Meng--for their efforts on this bill, which, by the way, the predecessor bill passed unanimously last September here.

I strongly urge Members to support the Digital GAP Act here again this year so we can get it to the President's desk without delay.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to say, as the author of this bill, it does take a lot of work, a lot of research, to put together legislation like this. And I did want to thank Joan Condon of the staff, and I wanted to thank Jessica Kelch, certainly Margot Sullivan, and Taylor Clausen for their efforts here.

I think that as you get involved in this legislation and you see some of the lost opportunities in the past--I would just give one example. NetHope, an NGO, made a compelling case for this build-once policy that this puts in place.

It was several years ago, as they explained, and Eliot Engel and I have been out to Liberia. There was a $100 million project for a road where there is no Internet use, and there is very little across Liberia. Had the donors had the foresight to just invite the private sector to lay the fiber-optic cable under that road while it was being constructed--and, as you know, you do that at a fraction of the cost. That is when they want to lay the cable--the cost would have been 1 percent of the total investment. It would have been $1 million.

But what is the consequence of that lack of foresight?

You fast forward to 2014. I will tell you the consequences. Ebola ravaged Liberia, 10,000 people over the course of a single year; it crossed international borders, finally included the United States. There was a reason why the information did not get out, and that reason was because there was not Internet access in this region across Liberia, which was the same region where they would have put the Internet access. That is what physicians tell us.

It is not a surprise that experts agree that the lack of Internet infrastructure hampered Ebola response efforts, according to the physicians, as donors and community health centers struggled to track the disease. They could not even coordinate their efforts, for those of you who remember that struggle.

Now, all of a sudden there is renewed interest in improving the Internet architecture in Liberia, and now we find that the cost is so many, many, many multiples of what it had been had this bill been law, and that we had simply let those know in industry that that opportunity was there to lay that cable back when the road was originally being built.

So we need this build-once strategy. We have got to have smart development. We can do better. We will. And I urge the Members to support this bill.

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

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 27, 2017; and further, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet on Monday, January 30, 2017, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 601) to enhance the transparency and accelerate the impact of assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to promote quality basic education in developing countries, to better enable such countries to achieve universal access to quality basic education and improved learning outcomes, to eliminate duplication and waste, and for other purposes.

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, I rise today in support of H.R. 601, the Reinforcing Education Accountability and Development Act, or the READ Act. This bill passed the House at the end of the last Congress in essentially the same form as H.R. 4481. I am pleased the House has moved to take it up again today.

We all recognize the importance of education as a driver of economic growth, social mobility, and overall stability. Education is what increases the productivity of the workforce. This is what empowers men and women to better care for themselves and their families. It increases civic participation.

Even 1 extra year of schooling significantly increases a worker's earnings over her or his lifespan. For women in particular, a primary school education is directly correlated very strongly with improved maternal-child health and improved survival rates.

Yet, around the world, as we know here, there are 120 million children that are not in school. More than one-third of these children, as Nita Lowey can testify, come from countries that are embroiled in war, embroiled in conflict, and many of these recent conflicts have lasted for over a decade.

We are now seeing entire generations of these young children who are failing to receive even the most basic education.

You want to talk about a humanitarian crisis?

This is it. There are clear implications for global stability and for our security.

When children remain out of school, what do they face?

Well, certainly great increased risk of abuse at the hands of traffickers, forced marriage or marriage as a child bride, and recruitment by criminal or terrorist organizations.

Nowhere is this harsh reality more clear than in Syria, where 4 million Syrian children are currently out of school. We have had the opportunity to talk to many of these children on the border and see what their circumstances are like.

Inside Syria, these children are being shaped by violence and by a lack of alternatives that place them at high risk of exploitation and radicalization. As refugees--if you talk to our friends and allies in the region--they are placing tremendous strain on the education system in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.

Despite these growing challenges, it has been decades since Congress reviewed and updated the authorities on which U.S. international basic education efforts are based.

This bill, the READ Act, introduces the new guidelines and the increased accountability for existing U.S. efforts to improve access to basic education in developing and conflict-torn countries. It requires strategic planning. It requires the prioritization of resources relative to needs on the ground in these countries and relative to the potential for impact. It requires alignment with U.S. diplomatic development and security interests.

Particular emphasis is given to those areas in crisis and those countries that are partners of the United States that face this critical challenge, whose populations are most in need, who have committed their own resources to ensure the success and sustainability of these efforts, but need our assistance.

It also requires increased attention to what is most important here, and that is to the specific barriers to education that are faced by women and girls.

The bill formalizes a senior coordinator position within USAID to oversee the development and implementation of a strategic plan across Federal agencies to ensure coordination and eliminate duplication and waste.

I thank Representative Lowey for her continued bipartisan leadership on this issue, as well as my committee's ranking member, Mr. Engel, and the chair of our Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, Mr. Smith, for their work on this legislation.

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

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

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

I concur with those arguments that Mr. Engel just made. Congresswoman Nita Lowey and I have talked about this, and if my colleagues will think on this for a minute, the reality today is that we face a situation where there are 65 million men, women, and children around the globe who have been displaced by conflict. I would just like the Members to think about the fact that this is more people than were displaced during World War II. This is the highest level, highest on record of human beings who have been displaced by conflict. Think about what that means to the children who are those most victimized.

The United States is doing important work around the world, trying to help our allies, trying to help organizations--and there are many good NGOs working on this--to address this massive education deficit that so many of these children face. But Congress, I think, has to demand a greater degree, yes, of transparency and accountability for these activities to ensure our investments are as effective as possible in line with our strategic interests.

There is one more thing that we have to ask of our partners in this, and that is equal access to every young girl for education. That has got to be up there at the top of that priority list.

This Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act outlines clear priorities for this work with that emphasis that I talked about and asking those partners to carry out their end of this bargain. This bill also requires aggressive monitoring and evaluation and an annual report that justifies the investment on a country-by-country basis, but holds with it the accountability for the education of girls and for the rest of this work.

I urge Members to support this measure. Again, I thank Representative Lowey. I thank the rest of the Members who worked on this for working on such a bipartisan basis on its provisions.

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

Mr. Chairman, this has been an issue in Europe. It has been an issue in the United States. I would like to make the point that, with respect to looking at economic analysis and making certain that it is bipartisan, I think there is a way to make certain it is objective.

As I look at the underlying text and then look at the amendment that we are accepting, we should reflect on this. We are going to have the SEC here look at both the protection of investors and the effects to ensure competition and efficiency. So I would explain to the Members that adding that into what I already thought was pretty exacting rules here in terms of an objective analysis should really succeed in our attempt here.

And what is the attempt in this Regulatory Accountability Act?

It is to make sure that the U.S. capital markets are unmatched in terms of their size, their depth, their resiliency, and transparency. And this Regulatory Accountability Act gives the Commission the opportunity to ensure that its rules and regulations, past and present, each of those are worth pursuing when measured against their economic costs.

Growing access to capital, protecting investors, preserving the world's strongest capital markets are not mutually exclusive objectives here.

And here is what I would like to point out. The European Union clearly recognizes this conundrum right now. They are launching a call for evidence to investigate the unintended consequences created by their regulatory framework because they are searching for balance in this, too, to make sure that they have retrospective examination.

It is prudent. Frankly, as the effectiveness of regulation is measured by outcomes rather than volume in a situation like this, it drives us toward efficiency in the market.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Donald James Greco, MD, of Huntington Beach, California, who passed away on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

Dr. Greco served our community with kindness and compassion for over 58 years.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine in 1948 and began his career by serving our country proudly as a physician in the Korean War. Moving his first love and bride, Teresa Marasco, to Japan, he completed his military service as a Lieutenant in the Army.

Donald chased the sun to California in 1954, finishing his dermatology residency at University of California, Los Angeles, and opening his own practice, in 1956, in Long Beach. He found a home and we gained a doctor. When not serving as president of the Long Beach Medical Association, Donald donated his time teaching dermatology residents as an associate professor at UCLA.

His doctor's practice was his family and his family was his practice. Through generations of patients, he provided excellent care, while employing family members to serve by his side. His longevity was surpassed only by his generosity, often forgiving the debts of those in need.

He was proud of his Italian heritage and his Catholic faith, as a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. He loved Frank Sinatra, playing craps in Las Vegas, and a good glass of red. Often with a story to tell, and never shy about giving advice to anyone he thought needed it, he always made time to call and check on the family he held so dear. Today, our thoughts are with them: his wife, Terry, of 11 years, his daughters KrisAnn and Lisa, his sons Richard and David, and his 11 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, last week, ``the summer wind came blowing in from across the sea'' and took Dr. Greco home. May flights of angels lead him on his way.

Mr. Speaker, the problem with this U.N. resolution is not simply that it criticizes Israeli actions; it is that it is fundamentally one-sided. It is anti-Israel, and that is a departure from longstanding, bipartisan U.S. policy.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334 does not address the Palestinian Authority's failure to end incitement of hatred. Frankly, they encourage it. The violence that we see against Israeli civilians comes from the encouragement of PA officials. It doesn't address the Palestinian Authority's continued payments. An incentive payment in their budget--over $300 million a year--is paid to those who would carry out attacks against Israeli civilians. The more mayhem you create, the longer the term you have in prison, the larger the stipend. That comes right out of the budget of the Palestinian Authority.

The U.N. resolution did not call upon Palestinian leadership to fulfill their obligations towards negotiations. The Middle East Summit is planned next month. So, first, the administration abstains on this, and next month in France there is real concern that another damaging Security Council resolution should follow.

That is why this dangerous policy must be rejected, hopefully unanimously, by this House.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 22, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 11) objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 as an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the esteemed Speaker of the House.

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

I want to begin by thanking the ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). I thank him for working with me in a bipartisan manner not just on this resolution but on the one that we worked on late last year--a unanimous vote by this body directing the administration not to take the steps that the administration has taken.

I appreciate the leader and the Speaker as well working with us to ensure this resolution was brought quickly to the floor of this House.

Today, we put Congress on record objecting to the recent U.N. Security Council resolution that hurt our ally, that hurt Israel, and I believe that puts an enduring peace further out of reach.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has long recognized that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only come about through direct bilateral negotiations between these two parties, and that is why it is longstanding U.S. policy to veto the many one-sided, the many anti- Israel resolutions at the United Nations Security Council that violate that principle.

But just the other week, the Obama administration broke with this longstanding U.S. policy by failing to veto U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334. This dangerous resolution effectively states that the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, are, in the words of the resolution, ``occupied territory.'' Why would we not veto that?

It also lends legitimacy to efforts by the Palestinian Authority to put pressure on Israel through the U.N. rather than to go through the process of engaging in direct negotiations, and it puts wind in the sails of the shameful boycott divestment and sanctions movement.

Unquestionably, this U.N. Security Council action damages the prospects for peace. The resolution and the bullying and harassment of Israel that it will spur only happened for one reason: the Obama administration let it happen--and that went against the distinct warnings from this body.

Mr. Engel and I engaged in letters, in conversations with senior administration officials seeking their assurance that the United States would veto one-sided, anti-Israel resolutions. In November, the House unanimously, all of us, passed a resolution which warned the administration against taking such last-minute action.

With that resolution, H. Con. Res. 165, the House unanimously stated that the United States Government should continue to oppose and veto United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final-status issues or are one-sided and anti-Israel. Yet the administration rejected the call from Congress and chose a course that will bring harm for years to come by failing to veto U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334.

If the Palestinians want a lasting peace, they must accept that Israel, not the U.N., is their negotiating partner; and that means ending the incitement to violence against Israelis that goes on in so many of the mosques, that goes on in the schools, that goes on in the newspapers and on television there. It also means ending--and I think this is the most important fact, because leaving this out of the resolution at the U.N. is beyond me--their pay-to-slay scheme.

You talk about a lack of balance. Here we have a situation where, since 2003, it has been Palestinian law to reward Palestinian terrorists--terrorists--to go out, and they are given this incitement, this stipend for life. The more mayhem they create, the more horrific the number of civilians they attack and, therefore, the longer the sentence, the more they know: Well, I can serve my time, and then when I get out, I can get this stipend for the rest of my life--and it is larger and larger, depending upon the amount of mayhem--and if I don't make it, or if I am a suicide bomber, my family gets the stipend.

That, by law, is the way the Palestinian Authority has engineered this, costing the lives--and you can read

about it every month of those civilians attacked on the streets. It is not just Israelis, of course. Taylor Force, a U.S. Marine, was killed simply because he was in Israel, but it was by someone responding to the incitement.

So $300 million per year spent by the Palestinian Authority to do that. No mention of that, of course, by the United Nations. And that is why today's action is so important, to demonstrate our united opposition to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, call for its repeal, to head off any more moves the Obama administration might have in the next few days with respect to the Paris conference next week as well, and to provide the foundation for the next administration to move forcefully to counteract its dangerous impact.

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

Mr. Speaker, in response briefly, we did have a substitute from Mr. Price, and we looked at that substitute, but it did not once mention the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

Mr. Engel and I have worked hard together, in good faith and in a bipartisan manner, to develop a measure that rejects and repudiates this dangerous U.N. resolution that was passed; and also, ours warns the White House against taking additional measures in the last few weeks of the current administration. I think it is important to remind the body that this is very concerning, given the backdrop of the Paris conference on the 15th of this month and the very real concern that the President could take further steps at the U.N.

Again, Mr. Price's amendment did not include this urgent warning. I want to say that I am happy to work with Mr. Price in a bipartisan manner once the Committee on Foreign Affairs organizes, but time is of the essence. We must act to reject United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, not remain silent on it, and we have got to limit the damage that the administration has caused to prospects for a lasting peace.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the longtime chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), who has served for years as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. DeSantis).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Trott).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).

Mr. Speaker, just by way of the facts, what this resolution attempts to do is to reject the U.N. resolution that calls for a Palestinian state but not a Jewish state, a resolution that opens the door for those who want to impose boycott, divestment, or other sanctions measures against Israel or Israeli companies and, in essence, declares Judaism's holiest site as occupied territory. That is what is in this resolution. Those are the facts that we are debating here. Those are the facts that need to be rejected, my colleagues.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello).

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Taylor).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, in short, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 has harmed our ally Israel. It has harmed the prospects for peace. It is one-sided. It is an anti-Israel resolution, the kind of which it has been longstanding U.S. policy to veto within the U.N. Security Council, and it is not hard to see why because this resolution opens the door for those who want to impose boycott, divestment, or other sanctions measures against Israel or against Israeli companies. And, in essence, it declares Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall, as occupied territory.

Mr. Speaker, this is reminiscent of another action by the United Nations, the infamous ``Zionism is racism'' resolution whose damage took decades to undo.

Fortunately, the bipartisan rejection of the President's U.N. decision provides an opportunity for the House to rally around a more constructive policy and renewed U.S. leadership in the region.

I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution so that the bipartisan policy of rejecting this harmful U.N. Security

Council resolution and encouraging direct negotiation is endorsed loud and clear. It is far past time for the incitement to stop and the budgeting of $300 million by the Palestinian Authority to pay people to slay Israeli civilians be discontinued.

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. 514) to prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the Department of State according to congressional intent in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 without increasing the size of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as our House of Representatives continues its fight against human trafficking, I rise in support of this legislation, which is called the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act. This legislation will elevate consideration of trafficking issues within the Department of State to ensure that they receive the same attention as other diplomatic concerns. This is a struggle we have had for some time, trying to elevate these issues so that they are on par and given the seriousness that we have tried to drive here in Congress.

Congress created the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. We created that institution a decade and a half ago. We did it in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The purpose of this Office was to better communicate and coordinate U.S. Government efforts to combat both domestic and international trafficking.

In line with this mandate, the Office prepares the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which details anti-trafficking efforts of other countries and classifies countries as falling into one of three tiers based on their efforts to combat human trafficking.

These TIP Reports and their tier rankings have proven, as you know, extremely useful in helping our diplomats fight human trafficking. It allows us to transform this issue into a global policy priority. We know that foreign governments have made real improvements in their work to combat trafficking as a result of these TIP Reports; and the reason this is so, of course, is because, as you talk to foreign governments, they are very concerned about the threat of a low tier ranking. That gets international attention today. That is sort of the leverage that we have on these governments to pass laws that are serious about going after trafficking.

But we also understand that this annual exercise is periodically constrained by the Department's regional diplomats who fear we may agitate foreign governments when hard truths surface. A former Ambassador at Large on trafficking issues testified before Congress that the Department sometimes ``pulls punches'' and defers to regional specialists on the TIP Report's tier rankings rather than the TIP Office's trafficking experts.

This is what we want to counter because what we want is the maximum pressure for foreign governments to follow through on their international commitments to try to abolish human trafficking. By elevating the Trafficking Office to a bureau, this measure will give these experts the bureaucratic standing they need to ensure their concerns are fully heard, effectively leveling the playing field for this annual process.

I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of our Human Rights Subcommittee, for his years of leadership in this fight against human trafficking and for reintroducing this bill, which passed this House last July.

I also thank the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) specifically for his efforts, as we have traveled in Asia, to pressure these governments to end human trafficking.

I urge the Members to support this important measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 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, the author of this bill, but also, frankly, the architect of a long-running strategy in this institution, in this Congress, to abolish this form of human slavery. When I think of William Wilberforce, the one Member I know who exemplifies that spirit today is the gentleman from New Jersey, Chris Smith, who has worked on this mightily since the late nineties, and we are pleased that his bill is up before us today.

I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

I yield the gentleman as much time as he might consume.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have already mentioned the impact that these TIP Reports have. I want to point out that it is not every day that we can claim this kind of impact for a U.S. Government report.

Mr. Speaker, those of us who have traveled and tried to enforce these laws know how effective this is. This legislation here would make the TIP Report an even more influential diplomatic tool.

I, again, want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Smith for his authoring the legislation and moving it through committee.

I urge Members to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the order of the House of January 6, 2015, regarding morning-hour debate not apply tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 515) to protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders outside the United States to the government of the country of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify the United States when a known child-sex offender is seeking to enter the United States, and for other purposes.

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, the International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking will strengthen law enforcement efforts to combat this rather horrific crime that damages hundreds of thousands of young children worldwide every year.

This bill before us today was passed unanimously by the House in the last Congress in substantially the same form. This year, we hope to engage the Senate and get it to the President's desk.

Over the years, Congress has passed laws, including Megan's Law and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, to require the registration and require the public notification of convicted sex offenders. These steps have helped families and communities protect their children and have helped law enforcement officials investigate and certainly prosecute domestic cases involving repeat sex offenders.

A growing problem, however, is the appalling industry of child sex ``tourism,'' in which adults travel overseas to exploit children in other countries. Unfortunately, a significant number of Americans are engaging in this practice and engage in it while the countries of destination lack sufficient resources to deal with the rising number of child predators.

Many children victimized by this terrible crime have also been trafficked--that is, recruited or transferred to be exploited for someone else's profit. The International Megan's Law helps us fight back.

At present, there are multiple U.S. agencies seeking to combat human trafficking and combat child sex tourism. By better coordinating their efforts, we can be much more effective. Importantly, our proactive efforts to help countries identify incoming child predators will also encourage them to alert us when those foreigners convicted of sex offenses against children attempt, themselves, to enter into the United States.

In particular, this bill officially recognizes an Angel Watch center within the Department of Homeland Security's Child Exploitation Investigations Unit. Operation Angel Watch originated as a partnership with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and currently collects and analyzes the foreign travel data of convicted child sex offenders to determine whether notification to U.S. officials or foreign governments is warranted.

Last year alone, Angel Watch sent over 2,000 leads to nearly 100 countries as part of this effort to proactively and strategically alert international law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, this bill solidifies the Angel Watch center as an important part of the U.S. response to child sex tourism. Importantly, it improves the timeliness of the information that the center receives by requiring the Justice Department to share its travel records promptly. This will allow Angel Watch to better detect and report the travel of child predators.

Now, we do have one change in the bill from last year, and that change is an additional rule of construction which states that nothing in this act will impede any investigations being carried out by the Department of Homeland Security.

This was added at the request of nongovernmental organizations who were concerned that the bill's activities could divert resources from the Department's other investigative work. To avoid any confusion, I want to make clear that this rule of construction does not supersede the bill's general notification provisions which require the Department of Homeland Security to attempt to alert a convicted offender whose travel is reported to their country of destination.

These general notification provisions were the product of a bipartisan agreement, and I want to state my appreciation for the good work of those staffers who came together from across the aisle and from different committees to develop them.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the bill's author, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), for his persistent leadership and his persistent dedication to this issue.

I would also like to recognize the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as Ranking Member Engel and Mr. Cicilline for their collaboration on this bill, which I encourage all Members to support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, January 26, 2015.

Hon. Ed Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce, I am writing with respect to H.R. 515,

the ``International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child

Sex Trafficking,'' which was referred to the Committee on

Foreign Affairs and in addition to the Committee on the

Judiciary. As a result of your having consulted with us on

provisions in H.R. 515 that fall within the Rule X

jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I agree to

discharge our Committee from 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. 515 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., 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.

515.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Human Rights Subcommittee and the author of this bill.

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

You have heard today about the horrific child sex tourism industry. This is only going to get worse if we do not take action. Furthermore, there are child victims here at home, too. An increasingly mobile society has made it easier for child predators to commit, and evade justice for, their heinous crimes.

The bill before us today represents a concerted effort to combat this appalling injustice. Better communications among U.S. officials and our foreign counterparts all around this globe means more of these criminals can and will be stopped from exploiting children overseas.

Again, I commend Chairman Smith for his work on this bipartisan legislation. I encourage Members to support passage of H.R. 515, International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 357) to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to expand the training for Federal Government personnel relating to trafficking in persons, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a committed participant in this body's decade-and-a-half-long fight against human trafficking since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Although we have made some progress and raised global awareness on this issue, there are still today somewhere around 20 million people around the world who remain subject to the horrors of this modern day slavery, either through trafficking for exploitation for work or child sex trafficking. Most of these victims are women, and many, as you know, Mr. Speaker, are children.

Given the high stakes, U.S. officials working overseas must be able to recognize the signs, the telltale signs, of this terrible crime. If they do not know which groups are most vulnerable, or what activities should raise their suspicions, then successful action is very unlikely.

Though current law requires that State Department personnel be trained to identify trafficking victims, it does not prescribe how they should be trained. This bill does. The Human Trafficking Prevention Act would specify minimum training requirements for the Department of State. These would include a training course for Department personnel who deal with trafficking issues, in addition to trafficking briefings for all of our Ambassadors and all of our deputy chiefs of mission before they depart for their posts. It also ensures that U.S. officials stationed overseas get annual updates on trafficking-related developments related to the countries where they are working.

We have done a lot to move legislation to force other countries to adopt legislation. But our Ambassadors overseas and their deputies overseas need this education.

While the State Department currently appears to be meeting many of the standards, we all know that practices can change, and by specifying reasonable minimal requirements for such training, this bill strengthens existing law at no additional cost to our taxpayers.

I want to recognize the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney), who authored this measure, which passed as H.R. 4449 during the last Congress, and I want to thank him for reintroducing the bill that is before us today.

While we are discussing improvements to the anti-trafficking practices of our foreign affairs agencies, I also want to invite my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 400, the bipartisan Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act, that my ranking member of the committee, Eliot Engel, and I recently introduced and which we hope to move forward promptly.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the fight to end human trafficking has been a priority in my tenure as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee here in the House, but I am pleased that the House leadership and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have chosen to make it our focus during this early week of the session.

Our actions today are not a conclusion on this issue. They are an opening salvo by the 114th Congress to continue our fight against modern slavery. This bill seeks to ensure that U.S. personnel overseas are properly equipped to combat the scourge of human trafficking and deserves our unanimous support.

There are other steps which we need to take, frankly, as an institution in order to continue to put leverage at the disposal of our diplomats and new measures into law to protect the victims of trafficking. As we go forward, we will do that.

I yield back the balance of my time.