[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRAFFICKING PREVENTION IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CONTRACTING
ACT; CONDEMNING THE COWARDLY ATTACK ON INNOCENT
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE NORTHEASTERN
NIGERIAN TOWN OF BAGA; AND NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS
ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2015
=======================================================================
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 400, H. Res. 53 and H.R. 757
__________
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
__________
Serial No. 114-20
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
or
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
93-536 PDF WASHINGTON : 2015
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Washington, DC 20402-0001
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
MATT SALMON, Arizona KAREN BASS, California
DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
PAUL COOK, California ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas GRACE MENG, New York
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
RON DeSANTIS, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
TED S. YOHO, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
CURT CLAWSON, Florida BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee
REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin
DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan
LEE M. ZELDIN, New York
TOM EMMER, Minnesota
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
MARKUP OF
H.R. 400, To require the Secretary of State and the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development to
submit reports on definitions of placement and recruitment fees
for purposes of enabling compliance with the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes......... 2
H. Res. 53, Condemning the cowardly attack on innocent men,
women, and children in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga.. 9
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 53 offered
by the Honorable Robin L. Kelly, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Illinois................................... 12
H.R. 757, To improve the enforcement of sanctions against the
Government of North Korea, and for other purposes.............. 23
Amendments to H.R. 757 offered by:
The Honorable Joaquin Castro, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Texas.................................. 84
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in
Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia............... 86
The Honorable Ted Poe, a Representative in Congress from
the State of Texas....................................... 87
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 90
Markup minutes................................................... 91
Markup summary................................................... 93
TRAFFICKING PREVENTION IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS
CONTRACTING ACT; CONDEMNING THE COWARDLY ATTACK
ON INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE
NORTHEASTERN NIGERIAN TOWN OF BAGA; AND NORTH
KOREA SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2015
----------
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:38 a.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Chairman Royce. The committee will come to order. Pursuant
to notice, we meet today to mark up three bipartisan measures
and, without objection, all members may have 5 days to submit
any statements for the record or extraneous materials on any of
today's business. As all members were notified yesterday, we
intend to consider our first two measures en bloc.
And so, without objection, the following items will be
considered en bloc and are considered as read: H.R. 400, the
Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act;
House Resolution 53, a resolution condemning the cowardly
attacks on innocent men, women, and children in Northeast
Nigeria; and Kelly amendment No. 14, in the nature of a
substitute to House Resolution 53. And after recognizing myself
and Mr. Engel, I will be pleased to recognize any Member
seeking recognition to speak on these two measures.
[The information referred to follows:]H.R.
400
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Royce. So we begin with H.R. 400, Trafficking
Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act. And this has to
do with a problem that we have at some of our posts overseas.
The State Department, as you know, and the USAID rely on
contractors to provide services like construction, security and
maintenance. And those contractors employ foreign workers and
often they are recruited from faraway developing countries,
where they are vulnerable to abuse. And, in particular, labor
recruiters may charge prospective employees recruitment fees or
payments, basically, for the right to work. So current law
prohibits U.S. contractors from, in theory, charging foreign
workers unreasonable recruitment fees and the State Department
claims to prohibit any recruitment fees at all.
However, neither State nor USAID have defined what
constitutes a recruitment fee. And this ambiguity,
unfortunately, has allowed some recruiters to simply rename
these fees and continue charging them. And this is a serious
problem.
We have a 2011 report by the State Department Inspector
General, and in that report they found that a majority of
State's foreign contract workers in certain Middle Eastern
countries were paying substantial fees to recruiters, sometimes
more than a year's salary, resulting in--and this is in the
words of the Inspector General--``effective debt bondage.'' To
ensure that our overseas contracting does not feed the problem,
this bill requires State and USAID to define what prohibited
recruitment fees are and to report to Congress on their plans
to improve contract monitoring to protect against human
trafficking.
Then, the other bill I will mention is amendment to House
Resolution 53, a resolution condemning Boko Haram and urging a
peaceful and credible national election. And last month Boko
Haram launched what some say is the worst attack to date, a
powerful statement if you think of their previous atrocities,
including kidnapping nearly 300 school girls in Chibok. But
satellite images from Baga show a town now completely leveled,
thousands, thousands of boys and girls, mothers, and fathers,
killed in this attack. It is no wonder that Boko Haram is being
called the ISIS of Africa. And this resolution condemns the
attack and expresses support for U.S. security assistance to
the recently established African Union Regional Force, stood up
to fight Boko Haram. Alongside these security concerns, Nigeria
is also facing a watershed Presidential election. The political
environment is extremely tense. The Nigerian Government has
already delayed elections originally scheduled for mid-
February, and this resolution urges Nigeria to avoid any
further delays as well.
I want to thank Representative Kelly for introducing this
timely resolution, and I should also recognize the leadership
of multiple committee members, including the Africa
Subcommittee Chairman Smith on Nigeria--and Boko Haram in
particular--along with Karen Bass, the ranking member on that
subcommittee. I will now turn to Mr. Eliot Engel for his
comments on these two measures.
Mr. Engel. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you
for holding this markup and, as always, for working with us in
a bipartisan manner. I strongly support the two measures in
this en bloc, H.R. 400, Trafficking Prevention in Foreign
Affairs Contracting Act, and H. Res. 53, a resolution
condemning the attacks by Boko Haram in Northeastern Nigeria.
Mr. Chairman, I want to commend your leadership on human
trafficking issues. You mentioned all of the people, our
colleagues who have done this, Mr. Smith for years, and so many
other people on this committee. As you noted, current law
prohibits U.S. Government contractors from charging foreign
workers unreasonable placement and recruitment fees, but as the
GAO has pointed out, neither the State Department nor USAID has
adequately defined what ``unreasonable'' means. We don't want
to leave any ambiguity that could lead to debt bondage or any
other form of human trafficking. The bill simply requires State
Department and USAID to submit a report clarifying this
definition.
Human trafficking is a modern slavery, a horrific crime and
an assault on freedom and justice. As a leader in fighting this
scourge, our Government needs to make sure that our procurement
and contracting practices don't lead to abuse or exploitation
of workers. The bill before us today will help ensure taxpayer
dollars aren't inadvertently making this problem worse. I
strongly support this legislation and urge all of my colleagues
to do the same.
Mr. Chairman, I also support H. Res. 53, a resolution
condemning Boko Haram and encouraging free, fair, and ontime
elections in Nigeria. I want to commend our new colleague on
the committee, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, for introducing this
important measure and for her leadership on this issue. Nigeria
is going through a very difficult period right now. The brutal
terrorist group Boko Haram has continued its reign of terror
ruthlessly killing hundreds of civilians in the northeast part
of the country, and in a controversial move, Nigeria's
Presidential election has been postponed.
Over the past 5 years, Nigeria's leaders have not dealt
adequately with the challenge of Boko Haram. They must do
better. And that is what this resolution says. It also applauds
the efforts of other countries in the region, including Chad,
Niger, and Cameroon, to cooperate in the offensive against Boko
Haram.
With respect to Nigeria's elections, I am deeply concerned
by the 6-week delay announced earlier this month by the elected
commission. Many believe this action was politically motivated.
Nigeria is Africa's largest democracy and economy. The
continent cannot afford the illegitimate elections to undermine
stability in that country. This resolution urges the Government
of Nigeria to hold elections on March 28, and calls on all
parties to refrain from violence. Credible elections in such an
important country will help project stability across the
continent.
So I urge my colleagues to as well support this important
resolution.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Engel.
I want to turn next to Congresswoman Robin Kelly of
Illinois, the author of House Resolution 53.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to extend my thanks to Chairman Royce, Ranking
Member Engel, and the majority and minority staffs for their
work in organizing today's markup.
The resolution that I have offered in a substitute
amendment is intended to serve as a direct message to Boko
Haram that their terror and extremism will not be ignored.
Their ideology will not be tolerated, and their legacy of
savagery will not endure in the annals of history. Like so many
across the world, I am outraged by the brutality and
senselessness of Boko Haram's crimes. As we work with the
international community to reduce the threat of terrorism
around the world, we are reminded that Boko Haram has killed
over 5,000 people in Nigeria in 2014 and displaced over 1
million innocent people.
Boko Haram has abducted hundreds of civilians using women
and children as slaves and subjecting them to sexual abuse,
suicide bombers, and child soldiers. Boko Haram has threatened
to disrupt the Nigerian elections and intimidate would-be
voters. Victimizing innocent men, women, and children for
perverse and ideological gain will never be tolerated or
treated as just by the international community. With our vote
today, this committee can affirm that we stand for the human
rights, dignity, and security of the Nigerian people. We will
not tolerate a world in which Boko Haram or any terrorist
organization can slaughter innocent civilians; we respect the
right of women to be educated without the threat of violence;
and that we support free and fair elections that do not have
the threat of suppression and intimidation lingering around
them.
While they are not on this committee, I want to thank our
colleagues Congresswomen Frederica Wilson and Corrine Brown for
their leadership on this issue, and I again thank the chairman
and ranking member for their work in marking up this
resolution.
I yield back.
Chairman Royce. We turn now to Mr. Matt Salmon of Arizona.
Mr. Salmon. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
drafting this important bill and bringing it up so quickly at
the beginning of the Congress. I have consistently supported
any measures and legislation that would hold North Korea
accountable to its intolerable actions.
Chairman Royce. Mr. Salmon, we will take that bill up next,
but right now, the en bloc amendment, sir.
Mr. Salmon. Oh, the en bloc amendment. Thank you.
Chairman Royce. Any other members seek to--Mr. Cicilline
from Rhode Island.
Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank you and Ranking Member Engel for swiftly
scheduling the first markup of a new Congress to address
critical issues in the world right now. I am happy to see us
move forward on a number of bills that I am very proud to have
cosponsored. I am particularly grateful to the chairman and the
ranking member for their leadership on human trafficking with
the Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act.
Put simply, human trafficking is slavery. It violates the
founding principles of the United States of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness, and humanity's very basic principle
of respect. The United States must continue to lead efforts in
combating human trafficking, and I am very pleased that we are
marking up legislation to improve transparency and enforcement
regarding the oversight of recruitment fees paid by foreign
workers.
Finally, I was proud to cosponsor the resolution offered by
my friend and college Congresswoman Robin Kelly condemning the
violence and terrorism perpetrated by Boko Haram, abducting
innocent students and forcing children into marriage or slavery
is unconscionable. And no child in any part of the world should
live in constant fear of kidnapping or death. We must send a
strong message to Boko Haram that these heinous acts and their
other terrorist activities are unacceptable. There is no
question that the United States must do everything in its power
to work with our partners to stop Boko Haram.
And I, too, want to acknowledge the advocacy and passionate
work of our colleague, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.
But also in our partnership with Nigeria, we must also
enforce our expectations that the Nigerian Government is
honest, fair, and treats all of its citizens with dignity.
Last year, Nigeria enacted a law which added additional
criminal penalties against lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender individuals. Although titled ``The Same-Sex
Marriage Prohibition bill,'' the law goes well beyond
prohibiting marriage equality to actively discriminate against
LGBT individuals and their allies in meaningful ways. Since
enactment of the law, we have received reports of escalated
violence, police and government oppression, and censorship. And
while we commit to the full might of the United States to
fighting Boko Haram, we cannot ignore egregious human rights
violations at the same time.
Again, I commend the chairman and the ranking member for
moving these important pieces of legislation, and I look
forward to their passage, and I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Cicilline.
We go now to Mr. Smith of New Jersey. His Africa
Subcommittee has done key work on Nigeria and Boko Haram,
pushing for its designation as a foreign terrorist
organization.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for bringing
these bills before the committee and for your leadership on the
trafficking bill. I think that is a very timely bill. The GAO
report adds exclamation points to what this will seek to
accomplish, the one that was done just a few months ago. So
thank you for that leadership.
You know, on the whole idea of exploiting workers and
falsifying recruitment procedures as well as recruitment fees,
this has been a problem that has plagued our own procurement
process. I held a series of hearings, Mr. Chairman, and two of
them were joint hearings; one with Duncan Hunter when he was
the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the other with
John McHugh when he was a subcommittee chairman. And we were
able to probe and discover very, very egregious practices on
the part of our own procurement, whereby contractors as well as
recruitment people in Jordan and elsewhere were inviting people
to come to work for us, only to be told once they got here that
they couldn't leave. They were in substandard housing. Their
passports were taken away from them, and then they were living
in despicable circumstances and getting pay that was nowhere
near what they were earning--or should have earned--and what
they were promised.
It fits the definition of a labor trafficking offense. We
have pressed repeatedly that in all procurement, across the
board in the United States Government, that we set the
standard, not be part of the problem but be part of the
solution when it comes to purchasing and when it comes to
employing people, particularly overseas. It has not been a good
record. And, again, this I think helps us get further
information, further clarification about how we can do much
better.
I would also point out that, in 2003, when we did the
reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,
legislation that I was the author of, the act had specific
language about contracting; and if a contractor is complicit in
human trafficking, that not only are we able to take that
contract away from them in a very expeditious way, but we will
hold all those who are complicit in that trafficking labor or
sex trafficking to account criminally so that we can bring
charges against them. Again, you now bring further push,
amplification, light, and scrutiny to what has not been a very
good or well-executed policy, and I thank you for it.
Chairman Royce. I thank you. You still have time.
Mr. Smith. Just briefly on the Boko Haram issue if I could.
And Boko Haram, we can't say enough about how bad Boko Haram
is, how lethal, how radical they are. They are radical
Islamists. I have been, along with my staff director, Greg
Simpkins. We have been to places like Jos. Jos is a place where
several churches were firebombed, and I met with, as did Greg,
with the survivors. And to hear them tell their stories about
how they were targeted simply because they were Christians, no
other reason. We had a man testify. I met him in an IDP camp in
Jos. Adamu, his name was, and he was taken out of his house--he
lived in the north--an AK-47 was put to his jaw and he was
told, You renounce your faith in Christ, or I will blow your
head off. Well, he said, I am willing to meet my Savior, and I
am not going to renounce my faith. The Boko Haram terrorist
pulled the trigger, blew the entire side of his face off.
When I met him, I was in awe of his courage, his faith, so
we invited him here. He came and gave testimony, and Members
who were there, you could have heard a pin drop when he
explained what it is that he went through and the love, even
after that, that he holds for those who were his tormenters. He
has forgiven them. He wants them to stop, obviously, because
this, like ISIS and like these other radical Islamists, like
al-Shabaab and others, are on a tear to destroy Christianity,
to destroy moderate Muslims as well.
So we need in this committee--and I thank you for doing
this--to continually bring forward resolutions, statements,
expressions, debate time, on Boko Haram. Let me also say, and I
asked Secretary of State this just a couple of days ago, I
think we are failing in our obligation to provide the training
that the Nigerian military needs in order to operate an
effective counterinsurgency operation. I have met with the
people who do it in our Embassy in Abuja, wonderful military
people. I have met with the military of Nigeria. I met with the
Foreign Minister of Nigeria most recently, and I was encouraged
by the Secretary's statement that this needs to be gotten back
on track. But it has been slow. And it has not been as
expansive enough.
There was a false statement made earlier in this debate by
several that we couldn't vet sufficient numbers of Nigerian
military pursuant to the Leahy amendment. So I convened a
hearing on that, and we heard from not only a number of human
rights organizations, but we also heard from the
administration. And they said at least 50 percent of the
Nigerian military could pass muster under the Leahy provision.
So let's do it. They don't want our troops. They do need
certain weapons and night-vision goggles and the like because
we know Boko Haram often operates at night. But let's train
these men and women and their officer corps so they can protect
these children who are being abducted, the boys being killed,
the young girls being abducted like the Chibok schoolgirls. I
have met several of the lucky ones, the Chibok schoolgirls,
both in Nigeria and a few that have made it here, to hear them
tell their stories. It is just frightening, the horror that
they live with, the PTSD that they now have to cope with in the
middle of the night when they think of what that was like to
have been taken hostage by this terrorist group.
The Nigerian military is capable. I have seen them, Mr.
Chairman, all over the world, especially in Africa, but also in
places like Sarajevo during the Balkan wars as peacekeepers.
They have stepped up to the plate time and again. In Darfur, I
was with a Nigerian group who were peacekeepers. They have done
a very good job, but the skill set that they have needs to be
ramped up. We are not doing it. So, again, I appeal to the
administration. We need to work this out. I pleaded with them,
let's get a jointness going with their military and get this
training up and running to mitigate this threat and hopefully
to abolish it.
And I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Smith.
Anyone else seeking recognition on this legislation?
Mr. Trott of Michigan.
Mr. Trott. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking
member for scheduling the markup of H.R. 400. We should
obviously expect and demand transparency and accountability of
contractors employing foreign workers. And when we discover
practices that exacerbate human trafficking, we should demand
not only detailed plans to correct the violations, but also
penalties should be imposed.
I also want to thank the chairman for scheduling a markup
of House Resolution 53. The aggression on the part of Boko
Haram has been unconscionable and has been a breach of the
principles of political and religious freedom that this country
is built on. The ability to freely practice religion and
participate in the political system has brought us prosperity
and would bring prosperity to Nigeria as well. In this spirit,
we should encourage Nigeria to not submit to terrorism and fear
but instead move forward with their elections.
We stand with the Nigerian Government.
They have our support, and we thank the African Union for
all of their efforts to combat this problem.
I yield back my time.
Chairman Royce. Hearing no further requests for
recognition, the question occurs on the items considered en
bloc.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
measures are considered en bloc. H.R. 400 and the House
Resolution 53, as amended by Kelly's amendment 14, are agreed
to.
And I now call up H.R. 757.
Clerk, if you could read the bill.
Ms. Marter. H.R. 757, a bill, to improve the enforcement of
sanctions against the Government of North Korea, and for other
purposes.
Chairman Royce. Without objection, the bill is considered
as read and open for amendment at any point.
[The information referred to follows:] H.R.
757
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Royce. And, again, after recognizing myself and
the ranking member, I am glad to recognize other members
seeking recognition to speak on the underlying bill. And then
we will consider en bloc a package of bipartisan amendments.
And so this is the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act. And
this relates to the attack in November, the cyberattack on Sony
Pictures. North Korea, once again, reminded the world that
behind its belligerent rhetoric is a country that poses a very
real and a very serious threat to our security.
This bill, the North Korean Sanctions Enforcement Act, is a
direct response to North Korea's continued aggression, and I
want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Engel, who has been twice
to North Korea, for working with me to introduce this bill,
which is substantially similar to our North Korea sanctions
bill that passed the House last July.
This bill codifies a robust array of tough sanctions
against the regime and its enablers, much like the penalties
that were successfully applied by the Treasury Department back
in 2005 when the agency targeted a small bank in Macau that was
complicit in Pyongyang's counterfeiting at the time. And this
seriously crippled North Korea's financing and was one of the
most effective steps we have taken against North Korea, until
the sanctions were foolishly lifted in 2008 in exchange for
fruitless negotiations over the country's nuclear program.
Nearly 7 years later, some analysts believe that North
Korea has succeeded in miniaturizing a nuclear warhead. Some of
you may have seen this reported yesterday, but they reportedly
could be on track to have a stockpile of 100 atomic bombs
within 5 years. It is time to end the administration's policy
of strategic patience. And this bill will prevent Kim Jong-un
and his top officials from reaching those assets they maintain
in foreign banks, as well as the hard currency that sustains
their rule.
The bill's sanctions target North Korea's money laundering,
its counterfeiting, and its smuggling and narcotics
trafficking, undermining these key finances of the regime's
nuclear program. Disrupting North Korea's illicit activities
will also place tremendous strain on the country's ruling elite
who have done so much harm to the North Korean people. I have
seen some of that harm firsthand in the eastern part of North
Korea when I was there.
Last year, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry released the most
comprehensive report on North Korea to date, finding that the
Kim regime has for decades pursued policies involving crimes
that ``shock the conscience of humanity,'' in their words. H.R.
757 requires the State Department to use the Commission of
Inquiry's findings to identify the individuals responsible for
such abuses. And the bill also requires the administration to
report on activities that seek to undermine our cybersecurity
and to study the feasibility of bringing cellular and Internet
communications to North Korea's people to break the information
blockade.
We will now turn to Mr. Engel for his opening statement on
North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act.
Mr. Engel. Mr. Chairman, I want to personally thank you for
bringing up this important bipartisan legislation. As always,
you are clearheaded and determined and steady on important
issues, such as North Korea. You and I agree about the threat
posed by North Korea. I want to thank you for giving this issue
the attention it deserves, and I am proud to be the lead
Democratic sponsor of the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement
Act.
North Korea's unrelenting pursuit of nuclear weapons and
ballistic missiles, their blazing disregard for international
law, and their brutality against their own people has gone on
for far too long. The United States and governments around the
world must be clear to leaders in Pyongyang: The only way for
the regime to ends its political and economic isolation is to
abandon its current course. This legislation sends just that
message. Specifically, this bill broadens sanctions against
North Korea. It targets those who are helping to sustain the
Kim regime through elicit activities. It also enhances the
enforcement of sanctions. I have been to North Korea twice, and
I must tell you that the North Korean people certainly deserve
better than what they have. This legislation gives the
President important tools and the flexibility to act in a way
that best serves our national interests. It also provides
important exceptions to the humanitarian relief organizations
providing food, medicine, and other assistance to the North
Korean people. We have seen this regime's track record, a
cyberattack against Sony Pictures in December of last year,
gross human rights abuses against its own people, an illegal
nuclear weapon's program. It is time to raise the costs on the
Kim Jong-un government. This is the right legislation, the
right time, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Eliot. Do any other members seek
recognition to speak on the bill?
Mr. Rohrabacher of California.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you.
First of all, I would like to thank both you and the
ranking member for the leadership you have provided on this,
and on this and a lot of issues that we have been facing. This
is a really contentious time in our history, and we are lucky
to have both of you and giving this committee and all of the
rest of us the guidance and leadership we need.
I would just like to add on this particular bill, where we
are focusing on North Korea, I would like to make sure that we
go on the record--or at least I am on the record--as pointing
out that many of the things that we are blaming North Korea
for, which they deserve blame for, can be traced back to the
influences of Beijing on their policies. The Communist Chinese,
I am of certainty, are helping them in their efforts when it
comes to nuclear weapons development, for example, and
cyberattacks. I do not believe that all of these activities,
which are criminal activities against the West and trying to
put us in jeopardy and also especially aimed at putting Japan,
we have to understand that much of what is going on in North
Korea is aimed at sort of a--giving an ominous threat to Japan.
And the Japanese are fully aware that this isn't just coming
from North Korea. It is Beijing giving a message to Japan
through their puppet state in North Korea. So I, just for the
record, I want to make sure that we understand this is a chess
game going on here, and the and the main player on the other
side is Beijing. So thank you very much to both of you, and I,
of course, urge your support for this resolution.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher.
Mr. Connolly of Virginia.
Mr. Connolly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I do want to
thank you and Mr. Engel for your leadership.
This is a terribly important piece of legislation and maybe
more critical now than ever. And adding the cyber piece, I echo
what my friend Mr. Rohrabacher just said. I think that is
critical. It was only a few years ago that the entire banking
system of South Korea actually was shut down in a cyberattack
almost certainly from the North. So reporting on that is very
important. I want to thank you also for--I know we are supposed
to speak to the underlying bill, but I have got to run back to
another hearing where I am a ranking member, but two amendments
that I authored, and I thank you and Mr. Engel for accepting
them, one was in the core bill from last year, and this is,
expanding reporting requirements, including asking the State
Department to tell us, what are you telling China? What are you
asking China to do with respect to the recommendations of the
Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Korea? And I think
that is actually very important. That China relationship is
changing. It is evolving. It can be a critical piece of
leverage we otherwise don't have. And so while it looks like a
simple reporting requirement, actually, I am hopeful and I know
that you and Mr. Engel are as well, Mr. Chairman, that we can
use this as a point of leverage.
And then, finally, thank you for accepting an amendment in
this markup on family reunification. I can tell you in my
district I have got constituents, Korean constituents, who have
not seen their families since the end of the--well, since the
secession of hostilities in the Korea conflict. To go 70 years
without seeing a loved one is heartbreaking, and they probably
will die before they get to see their relatives. And so family
reunification, a very major issue, and we know that South
Korean President Park Geun-hye has sought to improve in that
regard in her peace and reunification initiative. And I think
we should be supportive of that. And I thank you both for
including those provisions and for your leadership in this
matter.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Connolly.
Mr. Ted Poe of Texas and then Mr. Matt Salmon.
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate the chair and the ranking member supporting
the amendment that I have offered. I would like to speak
briefly about the amendment and underlying bill in the next few
minutes. The underlying bill, when we think of Iran, we always
need to think of North Korea, and when we think of North Korea,
we need to think of Iran. They are working together. One has
nuclear capability; the other has weapons, and they are, in my
opinion, wanting to trade off each other's facilities or
knowledge so that they could both be worse than they are
individually.
Iran calls North Korea a member of their Axis of
Resistance. They are really, I think, an axis of world terror.
North Korea, their new President Kim Jong-un, I don't know if
the chairman remembers this, but he made a statement--I think
it was last year--that he is excited about getting nuclear
weapons and wants to send his first intercontinental ballistic
missile to Austin, Texas. I don't know why he picked Austin,
but I am offended by that. I take it real personal that he
would want to----
Chairman Royce. You probably should.
Mr. Poe. University of Texas. Sir?
Chairman Royce. Judge, you probably should.
Mr. Poe. I am the reason. I don't know about that, but,
anyway, I think we should take them seriously about their
world-domination goals and always think of both of them working
together, which leads to the amendment. The amendment is very
simple. It requires that the President submit a report stating
the cooperation between Iran and their buddies over in North
Korea on their nuclear program and what is taking place between
the two. And that is a loophole, I think, in the ongoing
nuclear talks with Iran, and we need to encourage the
administration to give us information about what Iran and North
Korea are doing together in their nuclear weapon development.
So once again, I think we should support the bill. I
appreciate the chairman and the ranking member for bringing
this up. We need to focus America's attention on both of these
axes of terror and immediately approve this legislation but
require that the administration continue to tell Congress what
is taking place between these two world threats. And I yield
back the balance of my time.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Judge Poe.
Ms. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
Ms. Gabbard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Like the Judge, I too am deeply offended that North Korea
has called out my constituents in the State of Hawaii, placing
us in their crosshairs. Understanding that with what is
happening in the region this is actually something that is top
of mind for people, something that is very real. So as you look
at the growing threats across the world, both conventional and
unconventional, I appreciate your leadership and the ranking
member's leadership, and continuing to hold the line and
maintain this pressure on North Korea as they openly continue
to develop their ballistic missile capabilities, and their
nuclear capabilities, understanding that that consistency and
that increased pressure is necessary if we want this to have a
very real effect. Again, my constituents in Hawaii and others
in the Asia-Pacific Region are acutely aware of what North
Korea is doing on the one hand, and what we are doing to stop
them. Thank you very much.
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
We go to Mr. Matt Salmon of Arizona.
Mr. Salmon. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I greatly appreciate your tenacity on this
issue, and the ranking member. And I am very, very hopeful that
this year it will actually pass the Senate and get to the
President's desk because I think it is vitally needed. It is
legendary what bad actions that Korea--North Korea--has taken
on the world stage both in terms of its nuclear proliferation
and threats as well as its cyberterrorism with Sony Pictures,
and if we don't start drawing some hard lines in the sand now,
this escalation will continue.
The one thing I would like to point out is that we will be
going to visit the folks in China in the not-so-distant future,
and I am really hopeful that China takes more of an interest in
containing North Korea. They have a disproportionate influence
than any other country in the world because of North Korea's
dependence on their--for their economic wellbeing. And I truly
do believe that Beijing has a big hand to play, and I am
disappointed that they haven't.
I hope that we will continue to encourage them to do the
responsible thing because it is not only in the world's best
interest, but it is in their best interest too. So, thank you,
Mr. Chairman, for doing this yet one more time, and let's get
it across the finish line this time. Thank you.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Salmon.
As I recall, I raised this issue, as did Eliot Engel, with
the Premier in Beijing, and as I recall, you may have said the
same thing in Mandarin, and your Mandarin is very good.
Afterwards, the delegation on the other side commented on that.
So other members seeking recognition here?
If not, hearing no further--Mr. Trott.
Mr. Trott. I just wanted to thank the chairman and the
ranking member for moving H.R. 757 forward. The chairman wisely
scheduled a hearing a couple of weeks ago on North Korea. And I
for one found the answers from the representative from the
State Department and his complete confidence in the President's
Executive order on North Korea--I think it is Executive Order
13687--his belief that that Executive order would singularly
correct North Korea's bad behavior a little disturbing. And it
was clear from the discussion that additional, more vigorous
sanctions are required.
So, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Trott.
Hearing no further requests for recognition to speak on the
bill, we now--Mr. Chabot, you are recognized. We are on the
legislation on North Korea, Mr. Chabot.
Mr. Chabot. Okay, I had a different--yeah, that is the one.
I just spoke on the floor. I apologize. I just raced over here
from speaking on the bill that we are taking up on the floor
today. I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, I would like to express my
support for H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act
of 2015.
Kim Jong-un's regime represents an imminent threat to the
global nonproliferation effort, to the global economy, and the
global financial system. North Korea has made its intentions
clear that it will not halt its nuclear weapons and missile
programs. But its trajectory will not last long if the U.S.
denies access to its offshore accounts and funding.
As you know, H.R. 757 puts banks everywhere on notice that
they must choose between doing business with Kim Jong-un and
making use of the U.S. financial system, and that U.S. must
maintain a consistent position that makes it crystal clear to
the regime in Pyongyang that we will not concede to its
unreasonable demands. The time for willful blindness, for
looking the other way at North Korea's proliferation, money
laundering, and its kleptocracy is over. I look forward to
working with my colleagues to ensure this happens, and hope
that the administration pursues a path that will increase
security for South Korea and the international community.
And, again, I apologize for getting here at the last
minute. But I had to be in two places at once. So I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Well, we thank you, Mr. Chabot, and as I
say, hearing no further requests, we now move to consider en
bloc the bipartisan amendments. There were three of them
provided to your office just yesterday, which are also in your
packets.
And without objection, the following amendments to H.R. 757
will be considered as en bloc and are considered as read: One
is the Castro amendment 22, the Connolly amendment 23, and the
Poe amendment 83.
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Connolly amendment
Poe amendment
Chairman Royce. I am assuming no one wants to speak on any
of these en bloc. Mr. Castro would. Mr. Castro.
Mr. Castro. Sure. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you and
the ranking member for all of your work on this issue.
Yesterday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
stated that North Korea's offensive cyber operations, growing
stockpile of ballistic missiles, and nuclear weapons pose ``A
serious threat to the United States and to the security
environment in East Asia.''
My amendment echoes Director Clapper's assessment by adding
a sense of Congress that North Korea's nuclear ballistic
missiles program are of mutual concern to the United States,
Japan, and South Korea, and that trilateral cooperation is
essential to the security of each Nation and the stability of
Asia-Pacific Region. Last December, the United States, Japan,
and South Korea finalized a trilateral military intelligence-
sharing agreement concerning threats posed by North Korea. The
United States has had bilateral agreements with Japan and South
Korea, but this is a new trilateral agreement that creates a
more effective bulwark against North Korea and strengthens our
collective response capabilities the event of future aggression
from North Korea.
The United States, Japan, and South Korea share the values
of democratic governance and the rule of law and respect for
human rights. It makes sense that we share intelligence related
to North Korea's military threats.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Castro.
Any other members seeking time?
Hearing no further requests for recognition, the question
occurs on the amendments considered en bloc.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
Castro, Connolly, and Poe amendments are agreed to.
Are there any further amendments to the bill? Hearing no
further amendments, the question occurs on agreeing to H.R.
757, as amended.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The bill, as
amended, is agreed to. And, without objection, H.R. 757, as
amended, is ordered favorably reported and will be reported as
a single amendment in the nature of a substitute. Staff is
directed to make any technical and conforming changes, and also
without objection, the Chair is authorized to seek House
consideration of any of today's measures under suspension of
the rules. And that concludes our business today.
I want to thank Ranking Member Engel and all of the
committee members for their contributions and all of your
assistance in today's markup. We stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:22 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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