Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6018) to establish an interagency program to assist countries in the Sahel, Maghreb, and adjacent regions of Africa to improve immediate and long-term capabilities to counter terrorist threats, 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, I rise in support of H.R. 6018, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues here, Chairman Mike McCaul and Ranking Member Keating, for their bipartisan leadership to advance this important measure.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, as well as ISIS in the Greater Sahara, al-Qaida affiliates, and other armed groups continue to create havoc across north and west Africa. Thousands of civilians, including countless women and children, have died at the hands of these terrorist organizations.

In response to these threats, the U.S. has deployed over 1,000 troops in the region, but the many diverse and increasingly pressing security threats across Africa demand more than just a military presence.

Realizing this, in 2005, the U.S. established the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, known as the TSCTP program, to bring together the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and they did that to coordinate and streamline U.S. and partner nations' efforts to combat terrorism, as well as preventing the spread of violent extremism in north and west Africa.

This program rightly recognizes that we must build the capacity of countries so that they can themselves detect and defeat terrorists within their own countries. This is a long-term approach that can produce high returns with relatively low investment. We are investing in the future security of partner nations.

But TSCTP is not just about security assistance. Strengthening democratic institutions of partner nations to ensure responsive democratic governance and rule of law is also a key part of this program. Often our efforts help bring government officials around the table with local communities, including women's groups and including civil society at large, to increase dialogue on peace and security. Having women at the table not only makes peace agreements more likely, but also makes agreements last longer.

This region is home to some of the poorest countries of the world, and the humanitarian and development needs are immense. High youth unemployment, food insecurity, low education, and severe lack of government services together create an environment ripe for terrorist recruitment.

To improve these underlying conditions, USAID is supporting vulnerable populations through livelihood training, through access to health resources, and through agricultural development.

TSCTP coordinates our diplomatic, defense, and development tools to counter these terrorist threats and to help bring stability to this region. The bill we are considering today supports this program by establishing core objectives in benchmarks and strengthening congressional oversight so it continues to be efficient and effective and timely.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East and north Africa and is the former chair of the Africa Subcommittee as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act mandates an important interagency effort to combat terrorism and to prevent the spread of radical extremism. It increases congressional oversight by requiring increased reporting and regular monitoring and evaluation, frankly, of all of our programs. In doing so, through programs like TSCTP and with just a relatively small amount of foreign assistance dollars, we are investing in the future stability of these nations and their own ability to defeat terrorist attacks.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Mike McCaul for this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (S. 2269) to reauthorize the Global Food Security Act of 2016 for 5 additional years, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2497) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriations of funds to Israel, and for other purposes, as amended.

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, as we all know, Israel faces growing threats, but particularly from Iran and its terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah.

This year, for the first time, we have seen direct military engagement between Iran and Israel. It is not just attacks coming over the border from Lebanon with Hezbollah, but direct military attacks. Iran launched a drone and fired rockets toward Israel. They did both from the perch that they have now in Syria. Those Iranian militia and troops are in Syria. Meanwhile, Iran's terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, continues to amass rockets and missiles. They have well over 100,000 in their inventory now. This bill will ensure that the United States continues to have Israel's back in the face of these growing threats.

With this measure, we are codifying the assistance levels in the latest 10-year U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding. What that aims to do is strengthen our already robust relationship, especially on defense matters. The bill also works to build on the United States' and Israel's successful history of cooperation on technology development. Think of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which shot down some of those Iranian rockets. Mr. Engel and I have seen those Iron Dome systems at work, deployed in Israel.

More recently, the U.S. and Israel have begun collaborating on anti- tunnel technology. Why?

Well, Eliot and I can tell you that we had the opportunity--and this was a sad story--to go into one of those tunnels. We did not know where that tunnel ended up when we started. The other end of that tunnel was an elementary school in Israel. Obviously, the intent of the terrorists was to use that tunnel in order to go in and kidnap children and then force the IDF to fight block by block by block. Hamas dug those tunnels. Hezbollah digs tunnels, as well. This anti-tunnel technology will help the IDF find and destroy those tunnels that are used for smuggling and launching attacks on Israel.

This measure supports continued cooperation on space science and exploration, in line with the NASA Administrator's recent trip to Israel to discuss expanding U.S.-Israel space cooperation.

This bill also authorizes the United States and Israel to collaborate on humanitarian assistance projects around the world. It authorizes the President to transfer precision-guided munitions to Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros- Lehtinen). She is chairman emeritus of the full committee and the current chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. I thank her for her work on this bill. I also thank the gentleman from Florida, Ted Deutch, the ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Together, these two members authored the House companion to this Senate bill, which passed our committee unanimously, the latest in a long list of successful collaborations between our committee members.

In honor of her tremendous legacy as an advocate for Israel, we are naming this legislation the Ileana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Act of 2018.

In her almost three decades in the House, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen has made steadfast support for Israel a hallmark of her congressional career. She was the first woman to chair the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the first Hispanic women to serve in Congress. The U.S.- Israel relationship is stronger for the work that she has done in Congress. She will be greatly missed.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,

Washington, DC, September 10, 2018.

Hon. Edward R. Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning S. 2497, the

``United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act

of 2018,'' which was referred to your Committee on August 3,

2018.

S. 2497 contains provisions within the Committee on

Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. As a

result of your having consulted with the Committee and in

order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will forego

action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our

mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or

alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees,

or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject

matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming

this understanding, and request that you include a copy of

this letter and your response in the Congressional Record

during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in

advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Lamar Smith,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the author of H.R. 5141, the House predecessor of the legislation we have before us.

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

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

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

The democratic Jewish State of Israel is a friend and a major strategic partner of the United States. Israel is a beacon, as Ileana shared with us, of freedom, of democracy, of stability in the otherwise troubled Middle East. In short, it is the very opposite of the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime.

Iran has never made its threats to Israel a secret, and that is what they mean when the Ayatollah says: ``Death to Israel; death to America.''

After years of moving the pieces into place, including by showering its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, with money and with rockets and with missiles and attempting to exploit the conflict in Syria to build a military presence and support base there on the border, it is slowly but surely preparing to make good on this threat. With this bill, we can ensure that Israel has the tools to defend it self and defend our shared interests in the face of that mounting threat.

I do thank our ranking member, Eliot Engel, and I do thank Ted Deutch for all of the bipartisan cooperation that has allowed us to move so many measures through the committee, through the Senate, and into law.

I also want, in closing, to thank and to note that I was the beneficiary of the good work of my predecessor in this position, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, when I took over the committee 6 years ago, and for that I am also very thankful.

I am thankful for the contributions that all of these individuals have made to the betterment of our defense, the security of the United States, the security of our allies. I am proud of the fact that we have done it in a bipartisan way.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1911) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to monitor and combat anti-Semitism globally, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, disturbingly, incidents of anti-Semitism are on the increase across Europe, across the Middle East, frankly, across the world. As Moshe Kantor, the vice president of the World Jewish Caucus, has said: ``We are witnessing a global process of radicalization. . . . Unfortunately, and with no surprise, the common element that unifies radicals seems to be their hatred of Jews.''

Today, anti-Semitism is increasingly being acted upon and, in some cases, even institutionalized. Country by country, we are seeing school curriculums attempting to indoctrinate children and attempting to spread hate. We are seeing courts and legislation institutionalize anti-Semitism. And we are seeing acts of violence against the Jewish people and their places of worship being excused.

How do they rationalize it? Under the guise of a political protest.

It is critical that the U.S. play a leading role to stop this scourge of hate. Yet for more than a year and a half, the top position at the State Department charged with combating anti-Semitism worldwide has remained vacant.

Further, for more than 1 year, the office has also been completely unstaffed. This is unacceptable. I have raised this issue before.

As a senior official at the State Department reminded world leaders this past winter: ``Absent action, the sacred pledge of `never again' can become empty rhetoric.''

We cannot allow that to happen, and the bill before us today, H.R. 1911, will help reassert U.S. leadership in combating anti-Semitism worldwide. It will mandate the expeditious appointment of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and it will elevate the office to ambassadorial rank with direct access to the Secretary of State.

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I have one more speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and co-chair of the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism.

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

We have seen the horrific consequences when free societies turn a blind eye to anti-Semitic incitement and to anti-Semitic violence. Passage of this bill reaffirms that combating anti-Semitism is a top priority for the United States, and it will fill the Special Envoy position and provide it with adequate staff that is going to strengthen our ability to work with our partners overseas.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 401) urging China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade, 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, I want to thank Mr. Hastings for authoring this important measure on the dog and cat meat trade. It is an important issue to animal

lovers around this globe, and this resolution has garnered tremendous bipartisan support. He has over 100 cosponsors in this Congress for it.

Protecting the world's animals, whether we are talking about dogs and cats or rhinoceros and elephant, it is not a partisan issue; and I am proud to have authored a number of critical pieces of legislation to advance this cause, including the END Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016.

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, we have made some important progress toward stopping the consumption of dog meat around the world. But, sadly, dog meat markets still exist in Asia.

In fact, it is estimated that 30 million dogs and 10 million cats die annually across Asia as a result of the dog and cat meat trade, and they often live under horrendous conditions.

And this practice--I would make one other point--it also raises serious public health concerns. The World Health Organization has linked the dog meat industry to human outbreaks of multiple serious diseases, including cholera, and including rabies. The spread of disease is made worse by all aspects of the trade, from the unsanitary conditions of slaughter, and the sale of dog meat in open-air markets and restaurants, and from that, to the trafficking of these animals across international borders.

This important resolution urges all nations to abolish the dog and cat meat trade, to enforce existing laws against such trade, and to affirm the U.S. commitment to protecting animals, both here at home and around the world.

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Hastings again for this legislation and for championing his support for the protection of dogs and cats around the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6197) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards for thwarting wildlife trafficking linked to transnational organized crime, 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 in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure, which targets transnational wildlife traffickers through the State Department's existing global rewards program. These rewards will serve as a powerful tool to capture and to convict--to convict--wanted transnational criminals and terrorists who profit from the illegal wildlife trade.

Last week as we opened the papers, there were 87 elephant carcasses discovered in Botswana's Okavango Delta. These animals were shot by poachers. They were brutally stripped of their tusks. They were left to die.

This is a very real and urgent issue. Wildlife trafficking is generating over $10 billion a year in illegal profits for increasingly sophisticated criminal syndicates, and it is also generating profits for terrorists who are involved in this kind of slaughter. The illegal ivory trade is especially lucrative.

Mr. Speaker, for years now, I have been engaged in this effort to save some of the most endangered species. During a recent trip to Tanzania, my colleagues and I met with the law enforcement and park rangers on the front lines. They told us how they were outmanned. They are outgunned. They are up against sophisticated criminal networks that use helicopters, that use night vision goggles.

We have met with local communities impacted by these crimes, who explain how wildlife trafficking jeopardizes local security, spreads disease, of course undermines the rule of law. It fuels corruption. It damages economic development.

Wildlife trafficking is a serious national security threat, and combating it requires a global approach to identifying and apprehending the world's worst offenders. And time is not on our side. Each day of inaction means more animals poached, more cash for criminal syndicates and terrorists.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the bill's author, Representative Donovan, as well as cosponsors Castro and Ranking Member Eliot Engel for their work on this important measure. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Donovan), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, a former prosecutor. He is the author of this bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, a former district attorney like Dan Donovan can tell you, if you are trying to get the attention of a thug, there is nothing like a reward on your head to create real fear for that terrorist or that criminal.

We want wildlife traffickers to know the fear of being hunted. It is time we send the message to wildlife traffickers around the world that the United States will use every tool at our disposal to stop them and to take them down.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4969) to improve the design and construction of diplomatic posts, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, let me make this observation for my colleagues. The U.S. Department of State operates more than 270 diplomatic posts around the world, often in difficult and sometimes very, very hostile environments. These embassies and consulates project American power and reflect our values. They protect the lives of the Americans who work in and visit those embassies every day. We owe it to the American people and those who serve us overseas to build the most secure, effective, and efficient embassies and consulates that we possibly can.

That is why I want to thank Chairman Mike McCaul, the author of this

bill, who is with us. Each day, there are thousands of brave Americans who serve our country at our embassies and consulates overseas. These facilities are our outposts for democracy. While our diplomats serve overseas, it is our job to ensure that they have the resources and support they need. This bill will do just that, by authorizing critical resources for embassy security, construction, and maintenance; enhancing worldwide security protection; and lastly, improving oversight of embassy design and construction of these consulates and embassies.

The threats facing our embassies and diplomats overseas are real. We need to respond. The reported sonic attacks against our diplomats serving in Havana--and Canadian diplomats serving there, too, as you will recall--serve as a stark reminder of the real and complex security challenges they face on a daily basis. Yet, the last time Congress authorized resources for enhanced embassy security was immediately after al-Qaida bombed the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Over 220 people were killed and 4,000 others were injured in these attacks.

On August 7, we solemnly recognized the 20th anniversary of those cowardly attacks. Thus, we must strengthen our resolve to do everything within our power to prevent another Nairobi or Dar es Salaam attack by constructing the safest, most secure, and most appropriate diplomatic posts around the world. That starts with this bill, which, if enacted, will be the first embassy security authorization in 15 years.

Since the East African Embassy bombings, the State Department has used several different approaches to design and construct new posts quickly and efficiently. This is no small task, but what has become clear is that effective congressional oversight of these projects is essential to ensuring their success.

That is why this bill promotes efficient contracting methods, ensures the facilities meet security and safety standards, and engages with the State Department in an effective, long-range planning process for the new projects.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4969, which will improve the security, effectiveness, and efficiency of our embassies and consulates.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for mentioning the State Department authorization. We are still working on that measure. We hope to move that.

In the interim, though, the ability to move on the floor now with the embassy security measure is important.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, of course, a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and he is the author of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, America's embassies obviously are forward operating bases for our democracy, for our system. The brave men and women who serve at those posts represent our country on a daily basis and represent them often in a difficult and increasingly dangerous environment.

As we have tragically seen before, diplomatic posts overseas are often the first and easiest targets our enemies choose to attack. Importantly, this legislation will improve the security, the functionality, and the efficiency of our embassies and our consulates through enhanced oversight and better management of the construction of new diplomatic facilities.

So, again, I want to thank Chairman Mike McCaul of Texas, and I want to thank Representative Robin Kelly, as well as Ranking Member Engel and the many members of the committee from both sides of the aisle who have worked extensively on this important piece of legislation.

Our embassies project American power. They do reflect our values. We owe it to our diplomats and the American people to build the best embassies possible.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5576) to address state-sponsored cyber activities against the United States, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, foreign adversaries have developed sophisticated cyber capabilities that can disrupt our network, that can threaten our critical infrastructure, and that harm our economy and undermine our elections.

Malicious cyber activity topped the Director of National Intelligence's list of worldwide threats in 2018--topped it--ahead of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction; and in testimony before this Congress, Director Coats stated: ``Frankly, the United States is under attack.''

A report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that malicious cyber activity cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and over $100 billion in 2016 alone. But it is not just the economic cost of cyber incidents that we should worry about. There are real physical costs to these online attacks as well.

Last year's WannaCry cyberattack by the North Korea regime compromised the U.K.'s healthcare sector, if you will recall. In 2016, Russian cyber actors attempted to interfere in our election--an assault on our very democracy--and these attacks by Russia continue today. Despite the gravity of this threat, the U.S. continues to lack a unified framework to deter and respond to state-sponsored cyber activities.

I applaud Representative Yoho and Ranking Member Engel for introducing the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act, which establishes a framework for deterring and responding to state-sponsored malicious cyber activity against this country.

Consistent with the State Department's recommendation to the President on deterrence in cyberspace, this bill will ensure swift, powerful, and transparent consequences against bad actors online.

Specifically, this bill requires the President to designate as a critical cyber threat actor each foreign person or each foreign agency of a foreign state that the President determines is responsible for state-sponsored cyber activities that pose a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, economic health, or financial stability of the United States. In effect, this would codify America's longstanding unofficial policy of naming and shaming bad actors in cyberspace.

Further, this bill would require the President to impose sanctions from a menu of options against any critical cyber threat actor.

Finally, the bill calls on the President to coordinate designations and sanctions with our allies and partners to maximize their effectiveness. The Secretary of State is to lead an international diplomatic initiative to deter state-sponsored cyber activities and promote mutual support to our allies and partners to respond to malicious cyber incidents.

This legislation will put countries like Iran, North Korea, and Russia on notice that the United States is prepared to impose tough consequences for cyber attacks.

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

House of Representatives,

Committee on Financial Services,

Washington, DC, July 20, 2018.

Hon. Ed Royce,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing concerning H.R. 5576, the

Cyber Deterrence and Response Act of 2018.

As a result of your having consulted with the Committee on

Financial Services concerning provisions in the bill that

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

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

Floor. The Committee

on Financial Services takes this action with our mutual

understanding that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 5576,

at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the

subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and

that our Committee will be appropriately consulted and

involved as this or similar legislation moves forward so that

we may address any remaining issues that fall within our Rule

X jurisdiction. Our Committee also reserves the right to seek

appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any

House-Senate conference involving this or similar

legislation, and requests your support for any such request.

Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter

confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 5576 and

would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this

matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration thereof.

Sincerely,

Jeb Hensarling,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick). He is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is a cosponsor of this legislation. He has formerly worked for the FBI on cyber issues, and we very much appreciate his expertise in this area.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis). He is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a cosponsor of this legislation as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would really like to thank our colleagues here, especially Representative Ted Yoho, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Eliot Engel of New York.

I also want to thank the Financial Services Committee that worked with us on this legislation. We want to thank, in addition, the Judiciary Committee. We had the Oversight and Government Reform Committee that worked with us as well in support of this bill.

I think, as Mr. Yoho would share with you, the bill is truly a bipartisan endeavor that has been improved by contributions from multiple committees, government agencies, and the business community. And with the passage of this bill, Congress sends a strong message to our adversaries, that cyberattacks against the United States and against our allies will not be tolerated.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5274) to promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask 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, America is more secure when fewer nations are authoritarian, and that is the unfortunate alternative to democracy, are authoritarian strongmen. These strongmen regimes justify their repression at home by creating enemies abroad.

Since the freedom we enjoy is a threat to authoritarian regimes, the U.S. and our allies are natural targets for their aggression. We have seen this, unfortunately, with Moscow, with Beijing, and with the regime in North Korea. This is why there is longstanding, bipartisan support in this Congress for our democracy promotion programs overseas.

In recent years, however, we have seen democracy decline worldwide. This is fueled, in many cases, by a decreasing level of public confidence in democracy and in elections. Unfortunately, many people around the world just cannot trust that their elections are free and fair, and we have seen this happen in Honduras, in Cambodia, and in the

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

I would like to thank the authors of the bill. I would like to thank Representative Castro and Representative Meadows. I would like to thank also our ranking member, Mr. Engel. They put a lot of work in on this important legislation.

There has long been a strong bipartisan consensus in Congress on the importance of promoting democracy overseas, and this is because America is undeniably more secure when fewer nations are authoritarian.

But democracy promotion is not just about that. It is not just about our security. It is also morally just. Human rights are far better protected in democratic countries, ones without dank prison cells full of political prisoners.

Elections are an important part of democracy, but all too often, elections overseas are plagued, often by corruption or technical challenges, sometimes by lack of transparency. And this bill will address these impediments by creating an electoral exchange program so that we can take our best practices and lessons learned overseas to help local governments improve their own election capacity.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from California for yielding to me. And I do want to commend my colleague, Mimi Walters, for organizing this Special Order. I want to commend her for her tireless effort here for the release of her constituent by the name of Michael Nguyen, someone whose family I happen to know. I rise today to request that the government of Vietnam release an American citizen.

If I could just share with you my observations about this situation. We are really speaking out on behalf of a U.S. citizen from Orange, California, who was detained, as the Congresswoman shared with you, on July 7. And what I wanted to share with you is he was touring Vietnam and visiting elderly relatives. I think it is a very commendable thing that he does, that he stays in touch, he tries to do this once a year, to see his elderly relatives in Vietnam.

We have been informed that he is under investigation for engaging in activity against the People's government, which in this case is a spurious charge that the Vietnamese government is using to justify an arbitrary detention of a U.S. citizen.

Now, this is an individual who is deeply missed by his wife and four daughters, the youngest of whom is only 8 years old. Michael's family has seen their entire lives turned upside down because of this senseless ordeal.

Now, as I shared with you, I know the family, I know his wife, Helen, who works in healthcare in Orange County, and I can tell you what she and the daughters would tell you: This fellow is a loving husband, a doting father. The kids really enjoy his sense of humor. He is the guy that gets up, and because of his schedule as a small businessman, he is able to make breakfast for the girls every morning. He enjoys taking them to school, to the dance classes, to the sports practices.

As school begins again back here in the United States, it is usually a time of excitement, but also nervousness, for young students. So our hearts especially go out to his four daughters, who are being forced to navigate the new school year without their father.

While his family suffers without him at home, Michael remains detained in a Vietnamese prison. While in detention, he is provided only one meal a day and is allowed to buy a bowl of soup extra a day from the canteen. Michael is 54 years old. He cannot and should not be subjected to such treatment.

It is really imperative that we speak out, because Michael could be detained for months on end. Some prisoners are held for years on these bogus charges.

This situation is deplorable. Michael's case is an egregious example of Vietnam's troubling history of arbitrary arrest. My fear for Michael's safety is the same fear that you have already heard Congresswoman Mimi Walters share with you. We do fear for his safety. We want him returned to his family here in the United States.

The United States has a growing relationship with Vietnam, particularly in security and in the trade arenas. However, human rights remain a core value to us here in the United States, and we cannot separate rights, those rights, from our own ongoing engagement with the Vietnamese government. If you abuse our citizens, there will be consequences.

All levels of the U.S. government should make every effort to ensure Michael returns safely to his family without delay.

So here again is my request: Just allow this citizen to return back to his family here in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate, again, Congresswoman Mimi Walters for organizing this Special Order today.

Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago on August 7, 1998, Islamist terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida attacked American soil-- bombing the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Over 200 people were killed in these attacks, including 12 Americans, and more than 4,000 were injured. I ask that we pause to remember those Americans who gave their lives in service to our country that day.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on that day, a non-descript delivery truck drove up to the back gate of our embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and tried to enter the underground parking garage. When the embassy's security guards stopped them, the terrorists inside the truck began shooting before detonating a massive bomb that devastated the embassy and many of the surrounding buildings. Nine minutes later, in Tanzania, a second truck stopped just 35 feet from the wall of our embassy in Dar Es Salaam and detonated its deadly payload. Approximately 220 people died instantly, and thousands more were wounded in the two attacks.

With great reverence, we recognize the courage of the Kenyan and Tanzanian security and emergency personnel who prevented even greater loss of life by their bold actions. We offer our sincere condolences to the nationals of both countries who suffered the greatest number of killed and injured in these senseless, horrific attacks.

History should record that U.S. personnel in both embassies showed extraordinary leadership and personal courage in their response to the attacks, rapidly responding to locate and rescue victims. Their offices were on fire and their colleagues dead and injured--but these men and women responded immediately and quickly restored embassy operations. U.S. embassies throughout the region went on alert.

Unfortunately, we in Washington did not respond as quickly to the strategic threats we witnessed that day. The precisely coordinated attacks on our embassies were a declaration of war and a warning of our enemies' intention to hit our homeland. But we failed to heed that warning and paid a price three years later when al-Qaida took us by surprise and struck again on September 11, 2001--this time killing nearly 3,000 in a series of similarly coordinated attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Since the founding of our country, our diplomats have served America in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on earth. Our embassies and consulates are platforms of U.S. influence and vigilance and our diplomats are often the first to spot threats to our national security before they arrive on our shores. These intrepid professionals defend our national security, enforce our laws, and protect our fellow citizens overseas. And they are often the first Americans our enemies target.

Many Americans remember 9/11 as the first time al-Qaida struck the United States, but the first battle in our struggle against terrorism took place on August 7, 1998 outside our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Our diplomats were on the front lines that day, and they continue to serve on the front lines around the world today serving at over 275 posts around the world.

And the threats continue. In recent years, terrorists have killed American diplomats in Libya, Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan, while hostile intelligence services actively target our personnel in China, Russia, Cuba and elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker, the history of the East Africa bombings 20 years ago shows us that we ignore threats to our diplomats at our own peril. Let us therefore resolve to remember those who gave their lives for our country, and dedicate ourselves to protecting America's national security by committing ourselves to a strong, secure, and effective Foreign Service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my gratitude to my deputy chief of staff, Sara Catalan, for her many years of service to the people of our congressional district. I am indebted to her for her faithful service, her good work, sound judgment, and perseverance.

Constituents have often thanked me for the attention and assistance they received from her and the dedicated district staff that she put together and managed.

Her passion for public policy is evident to all who have worked with her. She has been vital to my outreach and proactive engagement with the diverse communities of the district, ensuring that everyone is heard.

She has also been valuable in assisting me with my efforts to prevent stalking, support victims of crime, strengthen education, and combat human trafficking. I have always relied upon her counsel and appreciate her forthrightness and her integrity.

As she leaves my office and begins the next phase of her career working for a member of the California State Senate, I know she will continue to serve the people of California well

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 981) condemning the violence, persecution, intimidation, and murders committed by the Government of Nicaragua against its citizens, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I would really like to begin by thanking our Foreign Affairs chairman emeritus, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and I do also want to thank my other colleagues on the committee. I also thank Albio Sires for his work on this measure, along with Colonel Cook. I think it is very timely. It is very important.

I think, for those whose families have experienced what it is like under a totalitarian system, there is a special identification with what the victims are going through right now as a result of the authoritarian bent, right now, of President Daniel Ortega, the same Daniel Ortega we remember from 1979. But he lost an election, I think it was, in 1990. He has had five terms.

But in consolidating his power, he has moved to an authoritarian approach in tightening that grip where he has now resorted to using brutal force against the students on their campuses if they protest; brutal force against the people who seek refuge in the churches, shooting up the churches, something that Congressman Juan Vargas was talking to me about the other day; brutal force in the villages against those who protest, creating a situation with hundreds and hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.

I can just tell you personally, I have a constituent and friend in the district, and she is from one of those villages. She saw me and gave me a little letter the other day about the fate of some of her neighbors who died at the hands of one of these attacks in the villages. They were murdered there on the streets of her small village.

I think the reason that this resolution represents such a broad, bipartisan consensus in this condemnation of Ortega's regime is because of the nature of that violence. What this resolution does is support the people of Nicaragua in their pursuit of freedom.

Nicaraguans, understandably, want self-determination. They want an end to corruption. They are asking for free and fair elections. The international community--in particular, the Organization of American States regional leaders--must continue to stand with these brave students and church leaders and villagers who are being targeted and being assassinated by thugs working on behalf of and at the behest of Daniel Ortega.

When we think about this circumstance and other authoritarian leaders, one of the allies of Daniel Ortega is Nicolas Maduro. He uses these same tactics against the Venezuelan people, and the people deserve better than this.

This resolution shows this body's commitment to standing shoulder to shoulder with those without a voice, seeking freedom from those authoritarians who are becoming dictators.

The administration was correct earlier this month in sanctioning three senior Nicaraguan officials for human rights abuses and corruption under the U.S. Global Magnitsky Act, a measure that we passed out of our committee, and that is something that this resolution affirms. But more can still be done.

This resolution encourages the administration to continue to pressure Ortega to stop the violence and to move forward with free and fair elections.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the author of this resolution.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I shared with this body the letter from my constituent and neighbor outlining what had happened to her village where she had grown up and how she had lost friends at the hands of a gang allied with Daniel Ortega quite recently who attacked the village. So I want to thank Albio Sires, Chairman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen, and others who worked on this resolution for bringing this bipartisan measure forward.

I want to thank them for their continued leadership. Because of the continued attacks on demonstrators in Nicaragua, the shooting up of churches, and the threatening of priests there, hundreds of protesters have been murdered, and thousands more have been injured. This is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, it is imperative that this body, and our friends and allies across the region, continue to call on Daniel Ortega to end the violence and to allow free and fair elections in Nicaragua.

Mr. Speaker, I urge 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. 5535) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 regarding energy diplomacy and security within the Department of State, 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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, as America's energy production has increased, and as Chairman Mike McCaul, the author of the measure, can tell you, our Nation's influence in global energy policy has grown.

The U.S. is now the world's top producer of petroleum. It is also the top producer of natural gas for the fifth straight year. I will add to that: The United States has become more energy efficient.

Our abundant supply of energy resources is not only good for our economy, it is also good for our national security. It offers American allies a critical alternative to countries like Russia, which use their energy resources to bully their neighbors, in the case of Vladimir Putin, and, in the case of the global oil cartel OPEC, enrich its member states at the expense of U.S. consumers.

In this moment of heightened American energy leadership, it is critical that the State Department have the leadership and direction needed to fulfill its statutory responsibilities governing international energy diplomacy.

This bill, the Energy Diplomacy Act, will elevate America's energy security and diplomacy priorities. It authorizes an Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources at the State Department. This Assistant Secretary will replace the Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, demonstrating the importance of energy issues to our foreign policy and our national interests.

The Assistant Secretary will be responsible for developing and implementing policies to advance U.S. energy interests abroad by managing our relations in petroleum, in natural gas, in biofuels, in renewable energy, and in nuclear and other energy resources.

This bill also requires the State Department to use diplomacy to support the development of U.S. energy resources to bolster our energy security, grow our economy, and support our allies.

Mr. Speaker, for years, the world's leading petroleum producers have been rigging the world market by cutting production to drive up gasoline prices, and this hurts families in places like our home States. It is in our interests to promote the availability of diversified energy supplies in a functioning global market for energy resources, technologies, and expertise. That is exactly what this bill requires.

Energy policy expertise must be more deeply integrated in our foreign policy. As a major energy producing nation, it is time we elevate this important issue within our diplomatic ranks, which is what this bill will do.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for his work on this important measure with us today.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), who is the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The gentleman is the author of this measure.

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

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Engel, and Mr. Sires, for crafting bipartisan legislation to ensure that the State Department has the leadership and the direction to support America's energy diplomacy priorities.

Working with our allies and partners in the private sector, we can counter Putin's weaponization of his energy resources and provide our allies with a stable alternative to unreliable energy suppliers whose priorities are self-enrichment and geopolitical self-interest at the expense of a functioning market.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5754) to promote free and fair elections, political freedoms, and human rights in Cambodia, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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