Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Chu for organizing the California delegation in support of our fellow Californians who are grieving as a result of the devastating fires in southern California.

Our hearts break as tens of thousands of folks have lost everything. As our hearts break, we know that in this Chamber we have to work. That is our obligation.

I have spoken to fire chiefs in my district, and I am so thankful that our fire departments in Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley have traveled to southern California to support.

I especially want to thank Oakland's chief, Damon Covington, and others who have stepped up to meet this moment, to go into the fire and to protect fellow Americans. The devastation of

these fires is unprecedented. Just as we have come together to fight these fires, we must come together to bring real relief to families again who have lost everything.

In our country's history, the Federal Government has never placed restrictions and conditions on emergency disaster aid to our people.

Mr. Speaker, Congress should support an impartial international criminal justice system to promote accountability and justice around the world. Imposing mandatory sanctions and visa restrictions on foreign individuals interacting with International Criminal Court prosecutors is a broad, dangerous approach, which is why I oppose this bill.

International law is effective only when it applies to actors and states regardless of who they are. Weakening and discrediting investigations into allegations of war crimes and human rights violations undermines peaceful tools of resolving and preventing conflicts.

Taking a blanket approach as proposed in this bill could implicate any foreign individual who interacts with the ICC and may even punish people like cafeteria workers and janitors for simply doing their jobs. Undermining the rule of law and freedom of speech as this bill proposes will threaten international justice and accountability. For those reasons, I oppose the bill.