    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                       TARGET ACT; CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN
                     PROTECTION ACT OF 2017; AND FREDERICK
                    DOUGLASS TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION
                       AND PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT
                                    OF 2017

    =======================================================================

                                     MARKUP

                                   BEFORE THE

                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                       ON

                       H.R. 1625, H.R. 1677 and H.R. 2200

                                   __________

                                  MAY 3, 2017

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 115-29

                                   __________

            Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

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                          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                       KAREN BASS, California
    DARRELL E. ISSA, California          WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts
    TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania             DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
    JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina          AMI BERA, California
    MO BROOKS, Alabama                   LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
    PAUL COOK, California                TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
    SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania            JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
    RON DeSANTIS, Florida                ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
    MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina         BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
    TED S. YOHO, Florida                 DINA TITUS, Nevada
    ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois             NORMA J. TORRES, California
    LEE M. ZELDIN, New York              BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois
    DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York     THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
    F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr.,         ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
        Wisconsin                        TED LIEU, California
    ANN WAGNER, Missouri
    BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
    FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida
    BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
    THOMAS A. GARRETT, Jr., Virginia

         Amy Porter, Chief of Staff      Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director

                   Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                   MARKUP ON

    H.R. 1625, To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
      1956 to include severe forms of trafficking in persons within
      the definition of transnational organized crime for purposes of
      the rewards program of the Department of State, and for other
      purposes.......................................................     2
    H.R. 1677, To halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people,
      encourage a negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian
      human rights abusers accountable for their crimes..............     5
      Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1677 offered by
        the Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress
        from the State of New York...................................    58
          Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to
            H.R. 1677 offered by the Honorable Brian J. Mast, a
            Representative in Congress from the State of Florida.....   108
    H.R. 2200, To reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
      of 2000, and for other purposes................................   110
      Amendment in the nature of a substitute to the Honorable
        Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from the
        State of New Jersey..........................................   154
          Manager's amendment to the amendment in the nature of a
            substitute to H.R. 2200 offered by the Honorable Edward
            R. Royce, a Representative in Congress from the State of
            California, and chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs...   197
          Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to
            H.R. 2200 offered by the Honorable Ann Wagner, a
            Representative in Congress from the State of Missouri....   198

                                    APPENDIX

    Markup notice....................................................   232
    Markup minutes...................................................   233
    Markup summary...................................................   235
    The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in Congress
      from the Commonwealth of Virginia: Prepared statement..........   236
    The Honorable Bradley S. Schneider, a Representative in Congress
      from the State of Illinois: Prepared statement.................   238

                       TARGET ACT; CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN.
                     PROTECTION ACT OF 2017; AND FREDERICK
                          DOUGLASS TRAFFICKING VICTIMS
                           PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
                          REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017

                                  ----------

                             WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

                           House of Representatives,

                         Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                Washington, DC.

        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m., in
    room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Edward Royce
    (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Chairman Royce. This hearing will come to order. All of the
    members please take your seats at this time.
        You know, members in this committee, we have a long history
    of leading the fight against human trafficking. Today we
    consider some additional measures in this effort.
        I am going to ask everybody to come to order.
        Pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up three
    bipartisan bills. Without objection, all members may have 5
    days to submit statements or extraneous material into the
    record on today's business.
        As members were notified yesterday, we intend to consider
    today's measures en bloc. And so without objection, the
    following items, previously provided to members and in your
    packets, will be considered en bloc and are considered as read.
        And they are H.R. 1625, Targeted Rewards for the Global
    Eradication of Human Trafficking Act; H.R. 1677, the Caesar
    Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017, with the Engel amendment
    in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1677, and the Mast
    amendment 7 to the Engel amendment; H.R. 2200, the Frederick
    Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection
    Reauthorization Act of 2017, with the Smith amendment in the
    nature of a substitute to H.R. 2200, Royce's manager's
    amendment 33, and Wagner amendment 6 to the Smith amendment.
        [The information referred to follows:]

        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairman Royce. I now recognize myself for such time as I
    may consume to speak on the bills here.
        So as I mentioned, we have this long history on this fight
    against human trafficking. And I would mention that almost all
    the members of this committee have been involved in this debate
    or in legislation trying to move this issue. I especially want
    to thank Chris Smith for his leadership on it over the years.
        And I think the thing that strikes us is that human
    trafficking today is now perpetrated by organized crime in a
    very brutal way, in a very sophisticated criminal enterprise.
    And the profits from this illicit industry contribute to the
    expansion that we are seeing of organized crime around the
    world and contribute, frankly, not just to organized crime, but
    to terrorism itself here in the United States and in Europe and
    Africa and Asia.
        And that is why combating human trafficking requires a
    global approach to identifying and apprehending the worst
    offenders in the world.
        The TARGET Act specifically authorizes the State Department
    and law enforcement to target international human traffickers
    by offering rewards for their arrest or conviction, rewards
    that will apply anywhere on earth. I want to thank my cosponsor
    here, Representative Lois Frankel, for her good work, working
    with me on this measure, as well as the trips she has taken to
    look into this measure.
        I also want to thank our subcommittee chairman again Chris
    Smith, and Ranking Member Karen Bass, for H.R. 2200, the
    Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and
    Protection Reauthorization Act. This ambitious bill not only
    extends the legal authorities from the groundbreaking
    Trafficking Victims Protection Act that, as I recall, Mr. Smith
    authored 17 years ago, but it also contains important reforms
    to our foreign and domestic antitrafficking programs.
        Although only the foreign portions are part of today's
    markup, the bill makes clear that human trafficking is a global
    scourge that requires a global response, and this bill
    strengthens the State Department's annual TIP Report and the
    country tier rankings. If you will recall, this is the way we
    name and shame those governments around the globe that don't
    take part in being part of the solution, but instead are part
    of the problem. So namely, with this legislation, there is
    accountability. They must tell the truth about the trafficking
    situation on the ground.
        These facts should not be subject to manipulation for the
    sake of diplomatic or economic or political considerations. It
    brings that accountability to our side in the equation.
        And lastly, for 6 years we have watched the regime of
    Bashar al-Assad wage a relentless war against the people of
    Syria--from the deliberate and frequent bombing of schools and
    hospitals to its widespread use of torture and starvation as
    weapons of war.
        And of course there is Assad's repeated use of chemical
    weapons. Just last month we saw footage of entire families
    snuffed out by sarin gas. Assad's brutality--and his support
    from Russia and Iran and Hezbollah--has fueled a mass migration
    crisis and regional instability that, frankly, threatens our
    national security.
        H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act,
    increases the cost to Assad and to his backers for their
    continued war crimes. Under the bill, foreign companies and
    banks will have to choose. They will have to choose between
    doing business with the Assad regime or doing business with the
    United States.
        This bill is a step toward regaining leverage and imposing
    accountability for Assad's flagrant violations of international
    norms and human decency. I want to thank Ranking Member Engel
    for his leadership and response to the Syrian conflict and on
    this important legislation before us.
        And I now recognize Mr. Eliot Engel of New York for his
    opening remarks.
        Mr. Engel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. I
    am grateful that you have called this markup, and I am glad
    that we are advancing three good pieces of legislation today. I
    will start with the bill I authored, the Caesar Syria Civilian
    Protection Act. I want to thank Chairman Royce for joining me
    as the lead Republican cosponsor of this bill, and I think it
    is fair to say that this legislation would not have moved so
    fast if it weren't for Chairman Royce.
        When Caesar visited our committee nearly 3 years ago, he
    showed us the horror of Assad's war against the Syrian people.
    No one sitting in this room who saw that could ever forget
    those images. We know in the years since that nothing has
    gotten better in Syria.
        As we heard again and again during our hearing last week,
    the United States needs a clear, coherent strategy to address
    the 6-year-old crisis raging in Syria. We need to push for a
    political solution that ends the Assad regime's campaign of
    carnage, removes Assad from power, and helps the Syrian people
    rebuild and chart the course for the future of their country.
        That is no small task, especially after so much time, after
    so much senseless death. Each time we have seen the Assad
    regime on the ropes, they get another lifeline, often from
    their most devoted enablers, Russia and Iran, and, of course,
    Hezbollah goes along with Iran. So part of dialing up the
    pressure on Assad, part of pushing for that solution means
    cutting off those lifelines, and that is what my legislation
    aims to do.
        This sanctions bill would crack down on anybody who does
    business with the Assad regime. We want to go after the money
    flowing to Assad. We want to go after the actual hardware that
    is driving his ability to murder the Syrian people, from the
    airplanes and weapons that spell doom for innocent civilians to
    the oil and spare parts that keep that machinery running.
        Sanctions worked with Iran, and they will work with Syria.
    If you are taking the side of the butcher in Damascus over the
    Syrian people, you are going to get caught up in these
    sanctions. This means Iran. This means Russia. The blood of the
    Syrian people is on their hands, as well.
        And as we are cracking down on those responsible for this
    war, we will also be taking names. Down the road those guilty
    of war crimes must face the consequences. This bill would
    require reporting on human rights violators and support
    evidence-gathering to aid eventual prosecutions for war crimes
    and crimes against humanity.
        This measure includes some flexibility. After all, if
    conditions change and negotiations were in sight, the ability
    to suspend sanctions could be a useful initiative if it led to
    a cessation of violence against civilians.
        This bill also takes a few specific steps to aid and
    protect civilians right now and in the future, such as
    ratcheting up oversight of assistance flowing to Syria and
    evaluating the feasibility of a no-fly zone, which, frankly, I
    think we should have put into effect years ago.
        Last year this committee marked up this bill and it passed
    unanimously in the House. I again ask for the support of all
    members, and I hope this time we can get it across the finish
    line and that the other body will move it, as well.
        I also want to quickly mention the other two bills we are
    marking up today, both of which deal with the commitment of the
    United States to confront the horror of modern day slavery,
    what we call trafficking in persons.
        The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection
    Reauthorization Act is the latest update to the Trafficking
    Victims Protection Act, which President Clinton signed in the
    year 2000. Each reauthorization has built on the success of
    that first law, making protection for survivors more effective,
    improving the way we prevent this crime, and ensuring that we
    are prosecuting those responsible.
        The State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report is the
    global gold standard for assessing how well governments,
    including our own, are meeting their responsibility to fight
    this crime. This bill refines the tier ranking system in the
    annual report, ensuring that Congress has a better idea of why
    the State Department decides to move a particular country up or
    down in the rankings.
        I am glad to support this measure, and I thank Chairman
    Chris Smith for all his hard work. And I want to say something
    about Chris Smith. I think he is the only one on this committee
    that has actually been on this committee longer than me, and
    from the moment I got to the committee he has been a tireless
    fighter for all the rights, including human trafficking, for so
    many years. He has really been the leader, and he is
    persistent, and he perseveres through different
    administrations, thick and thin, Republican and Democratic.
        So, Chris, I want to just single you out because you have
    just been exemplary. And I know from our talks what deep
    feelings you hold for this. So I just want to publicly thank
    you for your good work through the years.
        You can applaud.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Engel. I am also glad to support legislation authored
    by Chairman Royce, along with Representative Frankel, which
    would improve efforts to bring traffickers to justice.
        The Targeted Rewards for the Global Eradication of Human
    Trafficking, or TARGET Act, would expand the Rewards for
    Justice Program to include human trafficking. This program was
    created to allow the U.S. Government to pay for information
    leading to an arrest or a conviction in an international
    terrorism case. Congress has since expanded it to include other
    crimes, and with this bill, human trafficking would be added to
    the list.
        It is a good, commonsense bill, and I am grateful to the
    chairman for bringing it forward, and I thank Ms. Frankel, as
    well.
        So, again, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank all our
    members for their hard work. And I yield back.
        Chairman Royce. Thanks, Mr. Engel.
        Do any other members seek recognition?
        Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
    your leadership on this committee, for the bipartisan way that
    you handle the issues, making sure that we work as a team.
        And I especially want to thank you for your kind remarks,
    and those of Eliot Engel, who it is a joy and honor to work
    with. Thank you so much, both of you, for your support for this
    bill, for this ongoing effort to eradicate modern day slavery.
        The numbers are overwhelming, over 20 million, some put it
    closer to 30 million men and women, mostly women, mostly
    children, who are enslaved, 4\1/2\ million of whom are sex
    trafficked, the remainder are victims of labor trafficking.
    Sometimes there is a duality there where someone who is labor
    trafficked is also abused sexually. It is a terrible blight on
    humanity. And we, the United States, have taken the lead. Many
    other countries have followed that lead, but we are still
    nowhere near the point where this terrible modern day slavery
    has been ended.
        This new legislation, I want to thank Karen Bass, who is
    the principal cosponsor. I want to thank other members of this
    committee, including Ms. Frankel, who is an original sponsor,
    Mr. Poe, Mr. Brooks, Ms. Jackson Lee is also on, Mrs. Wagner,
    Mr. Costello. And, of course, Chairman Royce, thank you for
    adding the gravitas of your name as a principal sponsor.
        It is bipartisan. It is named after Frederick Douglass. And
    we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass'
    birthday in 1818 next year. And if ever there was--and I am in
    the process of reading one of his autobiographies right now--we
    all know he was one of the most dedicated abolitionists of the
    last two centuries and made an enormous difference in ending
    slavery, chattel slavery, here in the United States.
        I would point out, as I said at yesterday's hearing, he was
    a great orator, self-educated, an author, an editor, a
    statesman. And I would point out to my friends on the other
    side of the aisle, he was a Republican, Frederick Douglass.
        So this legislation puts a big emphasis on some new
    initiatives, including the wonderful work that is being done to
    make our airlines and other modes of transportation
    situationally aware, particularly flight attendants and pilots.
    It provides a complete reauthorization of those parts of the
    TVPA that need to be reauthorized, many of the programs that
    have made a difference.
        The TIP office, 55-or-so-person-strong State Department
    office, has done yeoman's work, and it tries to depoliticize,
    hopefully forever, any interventions on the part of other
    people at the State Department, so that the TIP Report truly is
    the gold standard when we read about any country, including our
    own, which is also in the TIP Report, and we know with
    certainty it is an honest reflection of the situation on the
    ground. And this legislation tries to move the ball in that
    area.
        Yesterday Melysa Sperber, who is the director of ATEST, the
    Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, one of the groups that
    testified yesterday, it is a 13 NGO-large anti-human
    trafficking organization, she made a very important and
    valuable insight about the bill, as well as the state of
    affairs. There are three P's to combat human trafficking:
    Prosecution, protection of the victims, and prevention.
        The laggard of the three P's is the prevention P. This
    legislation tries, to the greatest extent possible, to address
    unmet needs on the prevention side, including, although not
    part of the jurisdiction of this committee, it has been
    referred to a few other committees, making sure that the
    Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes curriculum and
    training so that our young people will be forewarned and
    hopefully empowered so that they in no way will become victims
    in the future.
        Again, it is a very comprehensive bill. I will gladly
    answer any question anybody might have on it. But again, I want
    to thank the distinguished chair and the ranking member and
    Karen Bass for their leadership on the bill.
        Chairman Royce. And we will go to Karen Bass from
    California.
        Ms. Bass. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Chairman
    Smith for your leadership on this over many years, in
    particular Chairman Smith, who really was the leading force in
    the House for many years on the trafficking issue. And to see
    it extended now in this new bill, and especially the focus on
    prevention, I think is really going to be key.
        The public education that is covered in this bill--
    educating children, teachers, hotel workers, airline staff--is
    really critical because human trafficking can be spotted and
    stopped in many different ways.
        In Los Angeles we have had a couple of cases where
    diplomats were actually keeping domestic workers enslaved, and
    because they escaped and ran down the street and we had
    neighbors that were aware, they were able to spot what was
    going on and the situation was halted. So I think the education
    part of this bill is critically important.
        There is also a part of this bill that talks about child
    soldiers. And just a couple of weeks ago we had a markup about
    the famine that is taking place in South Sudan as well as
    Nigeria, and both of the famines that are happening in those
    two countries are completely related to the conflict. And Boko
    Haram is well known for taking child soldiers. And what they
    are doing now with children is unbelievably despicable, making
    them carry bombs and blowing themselves up. You can't call it a
    suicide bomb because the person didn't voluntarily do that.
    They were forced into exploding themselves in a marketplace.
    This bill addresses child soldiers, and we also know that that
    is an issue in South Sudan.
        At yesterday's hearing, I know that this part of the markup
    is just about the international part, but I do want to note
    that in yesterday's hearing we talked about the domestic side
    of this issue and the fact that a number of girls, the average
    age is 12, that are involved in sex trafficking, who are U.S.-
    born girls, are children from the foster care system. And if
    you think about that, if you are a child in foster care, you
    are under the authority of the government. So it is our
    governments, local and State, that have failed these girls,
    that have allowed them to fall through the cracks and fallen
    into being trafficked.
        So I know we will address that in other committees, but I
    wanted to make note of that because it came up in the hearing.
    And I want to thank again the chairman, both chairmen, for
    their leadership on this issue over many, many years. I yield
    back my time.
        Chairman Royce. Mr. Rohrabacher of California.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I would
    like to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership on this
    issue of child abduction and human trafficking. You have taken
    a number of areas of interest, Mr. Chairman. That has been one
    since you have been chairman of this, as well as North Korea,
    and in both cases you obviously had your finger on the pulse of
    evil in this world and what we had to pay attention to.
        I would like to thank my other colleagues who are involved
    in these two acts aimed at human trafficking, and, of course, I
    am very supportive of both of those efforts.
        Let me say with that, I oppose the second bill, H.R. 1677,
    aimed at Syria. To me it again demonstrates the double standard
    that we have had toward Syria and which is not going to lead to
    a more peaceful world, that in the end if we do get rid of
    Assad, even though Assad is no more brutal than many of these
    other regimes that are our friends, we get rid of him, we are
    going to have a terrorist regime.
        Anybody here want to guarantee us that we won't have what
    happened to Qadhafi, where we have Qadhafi replaced by
    terrorists? We have a situation, Mubarak here was a relatively
    authoritarian leader in Egypt, and he was replaced by a regime
    that was leading Egypt into radical Islamic policies.
        This type of double standard that we have--Assad, I am
    sure, is guilty of the very crimes that have been suggested
    here today. I would suggest that many of our allies are guilty
    of those same crimes.
        Notable, this bombing raid that our President initiated
    after the poison gas attack killed 85 people in Syria, the
    course that was followed a couple days later where over 400
    civilians were killed by U.S. bombing raids trying to--I think
    it was in Mosul, and not intentionally, obviously. And I
    believe that it is possible that Assad's gas attacks, I don't
    know if he personally knew that it was in. I am sure our
    leaders don't know that our bombing raids are going to kill
    twice as many people.
        But it is time to stop the killing. The bottom line is
    Assad, the one thing we can know about Assad, and he is a bad
    guy, but we know that he is not such a bad guy that Syria under
    his leadership has been recognized by the Christians throughout
    the Middle East as the only place they could go and seek refuge
    and be safe under a government in the Middle East. And here we
    are having a double standard to get rid of that man.
        And I would suggest that when we went into--this is all
    caused, and we should mea culpa this on the Republican side of
    the aisle, this is caused when we had an unjustified double
    standard, as well. When our President, President Bush, decided
    to send our troops into Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein, who
    was also a really bad guy. But that decision to do that has
    resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands, if not millions
    of people.
        And this, as I say, focus on Assad as, of course, part of
    the double standard toward Russia, that is what this is what
    this is all about, we are going get Russia by getting his guy,
    will result in a terrorist government in that country, and it
    will result in many, many, many more civilians losing their
    lives.
        So I would suggest that, number two, I will have to--I
    oppose this, for obvious reasons, which I just stated. But I
    want to commend my colleagues for what you are trying to do to
    save people from human trafficking and these horrible Boko
    Haram-type of operations in Africa, which are just horrendous
    that they are going on in our lifetime. So thank you for the
    two of them, but I oppose the middle bill.
        Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher. If I could give
    you maybe my perspective on how we got here with respect to
    Syria, because in 2011 I think for many of us on the committee
    there was a moment when we were glued to the set watching CNN,
    watching the people march through the streets of Damascus, and
    they were saying, ``peaceful, peaceful.'' But clearly what
    their plea was, was for changes in the regime to a system which
    recognized more of their rights.
        As we watched the cameras, we saw the regime open up with
    automatic weapons on the crowd. And I think many of us knew at
    that moment 6 years ago that things were about to spiral out of
    control with respect to what was going on in Syria.
        And I think our worry as we saw the beginning of that
    slaughter and heard the reports was that there was something
    about the way in which this effort by the regime was being
    deployed with respect to many different competing intelligence
    agencies there in Syria, hauling people in and torturing them,
    we heard the initial accounts, but here on this committee we
    saw the photographs taken by one of those Syrian Army officers,
    ``Caesar,'' as he was called, who cataloged those who were
    tortured and killed in the ensuing months as thousands upon
    thousands of Syrians of every political persuasion, every
    faith, were hauled in, tortured to death, and then, I don't
    know why totalitarian regimes do this, but then numbered so
    that they could keep a catalogue of all those killed.
        And I think at that point we all knew that there was going
    to be a reaction to this. And Syria, for those of us that have
    watched the implosion, Syria has presented this case where what
    we want to do is to figure out a way to help set conditions so
    that a political process can have a chance to succeed. How do
    you do that? Well, the bill here is focused on preventing the
    Assad regime from acquiring the tools that they use to kill
    civilians.
        And it seems to me that expanding those sanctions to those
    who arm Assad's war machine has to be the place to start. And
    that is why I think Mr. Engel, who originally raised this case
    with us, as we think back 6 years ago, he was the one on point
    saying we have to figure out a way to help mediate this and to
    stop that slaughter, because we can see that there is going to
    be a blowback, a consequence to this.
        The bill does not call for regime change. I just want all
    of the members to think about what the bill says. Because even
    the Assad regime could receive relief from sanctions, it only
    requires one thing: They have to stop killing civilians,
    targeting civilians with these kinds of weapons.
        And it is not as though we think that this targeting is
    collateral damage, is it? Because we have seen the intercepts.
    We have seen the information. We know that the targeting is
    deliberate on markets, on hospitals, on schools. That is the
    problem here. That is what is creating a rallying cry. It is
    Assad's murder and torture of civilians that gives that
    rallying cry and recruitment tool for ISIS.
        So it is images of suffering in Syria that fuel the
    propaganda on the part of ISIS. This is how they took Raqqa.
    This is where they started in Raqqa, Syria. So preventing these
    atrocities this is what Mr. Engel is trying to do. We are
    undermining that, ISIS' recruitment narrative, and we are
    taking away one of the most powerful tools.
        Now, the bill in my view, looked at from that history, from
    that standpoint, is about pushing forward the conditions that
    can result in a peace agreement. This bill is about protecting
    the millions of innocent Syrians who are being bombed or gassed
    or shot or tortured.
        And, yes, I wish that Mr. Engel and I, I am a cosponsor
    here with him on the bill, could have generated the support for
    a safe zone to protect more civilians, but this is what we can
    do now, and we study a safe zone in the bill. This is what we
    can get through now. It allows for the sanctions, of course, to
    be suspended if legitimate, concrete peace talks are undertaken
    and if that killing and targeting of civilians stops.
        So with that said, I think there were some other members.
        Mr. Engel. Mr. Chairman, I am wondering if you can just
    yield to me for a moment.
        Chairman Royce. Yes.
        Mr. Engel. Thank you. Thank you very much. I want to
    reiterate or second everything you said, because I think you
    have laid it out quite perfectly in terms of how we came to
    this conclusion.
        Let us remember that Assad created the terrorist groups in
    Syria. He is a magnet for extremism because of the way he acted
    and treated. We saw the Arab Spring happen in many different
    countries, and it happened in Damascus, it happened in Syria
    with just average people saying that they were fed up and
    wanted a change. And Assad could have responded differently,
    but he responded by killing all these people, by mowing them
    down, by having his goons go after people. He started this.
    That is why he is different than everybody else in the region.
        Yes, it is a region of bad actors and bad players, but
    Assad has been a personal murderer. When we saw those horrific
    images here, Caesar brought them here in this committee, it was
    like looking at something from the Holocaust. It was just
    grotesque, just grotesque. And the numbering of the bodies.
        And so to somehow say that, well, they are all the same,
    and we are going to wind up with somebody worse, and we are
    going to this, and we are going to that--look, I think the
    United States made a terrible mistake 4 years ago or 5 years
    ago. I think that we should have aided the Free Syrian Army
    when they were a real viable force and had started to win a lot
    of events on the battlefield. They did very, very well.
        And the President's national security team, President
    Obama's national security team came up with a plan which would
    have aided them, and I supported that plan, and so did the
    whole team, but the President did not. And so we never
    implemented it, and I think that was a very big mistake.
        And then as the years went on, we didn't protect the
    civilians. There should have been zones to protect civilians. I
    mean, easier said than done. It would have required a
    commitment on the part of the United States. But the fact of
    the matter is we now have what we have, and the stepping back
    and the letting Russia get involved, and now they are involved.
        People are looking for the United States to lead. And I
    think that we can lead. And I think that we should lead. And I
    think that the initial strike that President Trump called in
    Syria was something that was worthwhile, and I supported it.
        But the question now is, what do we do? And the President
    needs to come to us with a plan, and the President needs to
    involve Congress. I feel very strongly about that. But let's,
    when we look at history, let's remember this was started by
    Assad, this was sanctioned by Assad, the murders happened with
    Assad. And so we just cannot say that he is one of many or if
    you replace him you will get somebody worse.
        This bill attempts to be punitive and prevent people from
    propping up the Assad regime, from trading with the Assad
    regime, from getting money to the Assad regime. I don't want to
    look back years from now and say that I did nothing while
    murder was being carried on, murder of innocent civilians.
        So I thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
        Chairman Royce. Thank you.
        I had yielded time, so we will go first to Mr. Deutch and
    then to Mr. Poe.
        Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I am certain, Mr. Chairman, that my friend from California
    did not mean what he said when he said that the allies do the
    same thing as Assad. I would like to give him the opportunity
    to correct that, and let me explain why. Let me explain why
    first.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Well, good.
        Mr. Deutch. There is no way that anyone in this country
    could suggest that the United States or any of our allies would
    be responsible for this horrific attack on his own people, for
    the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, repeated use of
    sarin and chlorine in Damascus, in Idlib, in Aleppo, in Hama.
    Five million refugees. Five million refugees. So much of what
    we do in this committee and in this Congress we are doing to
    address the issue of Syrian refugees as that has impacted
    global affairs and stems from the actions of this brutal
    dictator.
        Also, there are 6 million internally displaced Syrians, 6
    million, and over 13 million people in Syria are desperately in
    need of humanitarian aid that this brutal dictator will not
    allow them to get.
        To suggest that Assad is some great protector of
    minorities, for the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
    to have to try to justify taking action to try to address a
    dire situation caused by a brutal dictator, a brutal dictator
    who, let's also remember--let's remember how he has conducted
    himself. Barrel bombs dropped on schools, we have had testimony
    about that in this committee over the years. The constant
    attacks on civil targets--on mosques, on markets, on hospitals.
        I am sure a number of us met with the Syrian doctors who
    came to the Hill, who described conducting operations in
    hospitals as the bombs were falling by Assad's forces. I am
    sure a lot of us were in this committee hearing when the
    doctors, the brave doctors, Syrian Americans who went to Syria
    to try to provide some assistance, talked about what it is like
    to stand in a schoolyard and to look up into the sky and to see
    a black dot come across the sky, knowing that it was one of
    Assad's helicopters, and then to watch several other black dots
    appear in the sky, knowing that they were barrel bombs, knowing
    they were being dropped for the sole purpose of inflicting the
    largest number of casualties against civilians.
        I cannot sit here and allow this notion that our allies do
    that, that our allies behave in the same way as this brutal
    dictator, that somehow Assad is some great humanitarian. His
    record in his country is appalling. We are dealing with this
    all, and we are dealing with the fallout all throughout the
    world.
        There is so much more that we should be doing. I hope we
    have the opportunity to continue our discussions about refugees
    and addressing needs around the world and the assistance that
    we are providing and ensuring that our allies are doing their
    part to provide their assistance, as well.
        But I just can't accept in the midst of a markup of a piece
    of legislation, which was spurred on by some very difficult
    hearings with Caesar, to allow the suggestion that somehow this
    is all just some way to get back at Russia. Sometimes a brutal
    dictator is just a brutal dictator and that it is not always
    about Russia. There are plenty of concerns with Russia's role
    in all of this.
        But let's for a minute in a bipartisan way acknowledge that
    this horrific war that has led to the deaths of hundreds of
    thousands, and millions of others whose lives have been turned
    upside down for generations, let's find way to come together
    and pass this piece of legislation.
        And I would yield to my friend to acknowledge that our
    allies do not engage in all of those same activities.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Well, I have 20 seconds left. Let me just
    note, your answer is no, you are wrong. Our allies do this. And
    you can close your eyes all you want, close your eyes all you
    want.
        Mr. Deutch. Reclaiming my time.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. You yielded to me the time to answer some
    of your things there.
        Yes, Assad is known throughout that region as the protector
    of Christians. That is the place--I have had dozens and dozens
    of Christians come into my office to tell me that fact. And
    they come from other countries because they are persecuted in
    those other countries.
        Number two, there is collateral damage that our allies--and
    it is rightful to say, yes, Assad may be intentionally
    targeting civilians, where when we kill 400 people the day
    after he killed 85 it was a collateral damage, correct.
        But we know that the end result of all of this, just like
    with--everything you just said could have been said and was
    said about Qadhafi, as well as Mubarak, as well as others, and
    what did it lead to? No, it didn't lead to a less repressive
    regime, it led to radical Islamic terrorists taking over
    governments, who do commit these type of crimes and target
    people throughout that region, innocent people, in order to
    terrorize the West and terrorize them.
        Mr. Deutch. I have nothing further. I yield back, Mr.
    Chairman
        Chairman Royce. We will go to Mr. Poe and then to Lois
    Frankel.
        Mr. Poe. I thank the chairman.
        I want to pat my foot and say ``amen'' to what the chairman
    and Mr. Engel said regarding the issue of Assad and Syria. But
    I want to focus on the other two bills that we have before us.
        H.R. 1645, the Targeted Rewards for Global Eradication of
    Trafficking. Congress created the Rewards for Justice and
    Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program so that we could
    go after the bad guys like terrorists and international
    criminals. These programs allow the State Department to offer
    monetary rewards for capture and conviction of these outlaws,
    very similar to local crime-stoppers programs that offer reward
    money for information to criminals and that money is used to
    help capture them. This program does something very similar and
    is effective.
        Thanks to the TARGET Act, states can go after another set
    of horrible individuals, human traffickers, the scourge on
    humanity that is taking place in our lifetime. The United
    States must use every tool at our disposal, including rewards,
    to take human traffickers off the streets and put them in jail
    where they belong. I have spent much time here in DC working to
    get justice for victims of human trafficking, and I hope that
    one day this will not be a major issue because the problem is
    solved. But we have to get the criminals.
        I am proud to cosponsor this bill, which will help get
    these slave traders behind bars and in penitentiaries where
    they belong, H.R. 2200. As I have mentioned, human traffickers
    are the scourge of our entire global culture today. They are
    the modern slave traders. And they do it for money, and they
    traffic women and children, labor trafficking and sex
    trafficking, all about money. And they don't care that people
    are--that their identities are stolen from them, their self-
    worth is stolen from them. And I am glad this legislation helps
    move forward in that.
        I am proud to be a co-chair of the Congressional Victims'
    Rights Caucus with my friend Jim Costa from California, and we
    have seen, like many on this committee, firsthand the
    devastating effects of the modern day slave trade, not just
    internationally, but here in the United States. I give my
    wholehearted support behind this bill, which is a comprehensive
    approach to stop human trafficking.
        The victims of human trafficking cry out for help, help
    anywhere they can get it. And once they are in the slave trade
    many of them never recover because of the things that have
    happened to them. So that is why it is important that we move
    quickly to find ways to save them, rescue them, restore them,
    and then put the outlaws in, I will say, prisons now, rather
    than what I was going to say. But we need to take them and put
    them where they will not be able to contact any victims and
    steal their souls away from them anymore.
        The slave trade exists in the world, labor trafficking, sex
    trafficking, and we have a moral, legal obligation to do
    everything we can to take care of victims and stop this
    activity in our lifetime.
        So I would yield back to the chairman. That is just the way
    it is.
        Chairman Royce. Okay. We go to Lois Frankel of Florida.
        Ms. Frankel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        You know, people often ask me back home how could I take
    being in Congress because we are always fighting with each
    other. And I always point to our work on the Foreign Affairs
    Committee.
        And I did want to say to our leaders, to Mr. Royce and Mr.
    Engel, thank you for your exemplary leadership. And to Mr.
    Smith and Karen Bass, thank you so much.
        If I may diverge just a moment, you know, I represent South
    Florida, beautiful Palm Beach, the home of Mar-a-Lago. It is a
    beautiful place. But people will often look at photograph of
    the beaches and they will say to me: Well, what is the beach
    like?
        It is a beautiful beach, I say. Well, you need to come to
    see the beach for yourself because here is what you can't tell
    from a photo. You cannot tell how hot the sand is when you step
    on it or feel the breeze or smell the salt of the water. I
    said: You have to come to South Florida and you get to see it
    yourself.
        The reason I say that is because one of the things that I
    have enjoyed and learned so much from being on this committee
    are the codels we go on, which are the trips, which are
    bipartisan, and they are hard, very hard, but you learn so
    much. And I want to talk about a couple of the trips that I
    took that really relate to these bills.
        The first one, I think Mr. Poe was just here a moment ago,
    but Mr. Poe and I went to Peru a couple years ago, and today I
    am still haunted by that trip. The trip was to two different
    shelters in Peru where they were sheltering young girls that
    had been trafficked. One group had been slave trafficked into
    labor, the other into sex trafficking.
        I am repeating, I guess, what some of my colleagues already
    said, that this trafficking is a global crisis that is hurting
    men, women, and children all over the world and right here in
    our country, the number two criminal enterprise on earth. These
    young girls who we met, I can just see their--I see their eyes.
    They were, like, blank.
        One set of girls we met, they came from very impoverished
    families where literally the families didn't have enough money
    to put food on the table for all their children. And they were
    approached by traffickers who told them: We are going to
    educate your girls and give them a better life. They literally
    stole these girls away when they were just in their--they could
    be 6, 7, 8 years old--told these young girls once they got them
    away that their parents didn't love them anymore, and they put
    them in the most horrific situations where some of these girls,
    and I am not exaggerating, all they did was peel potatoes from
    the time the sun went up to the time the sun went down for
    years. That is all they did. No education, no nothing. No joy,
    no recreation.
        The other set of girls had been literally kidnapped, put in
    trunks, beaten and abused and forced into sex slavery. And
    fortunately for these young ladies, they were now in shelters.
    They had a long way to go.
        When I got back home I had a roundtable, and I met a young
    woman in south Florida who came from a vulnerable background,
    who had gone to a slumber party at a girlfriend's house, and
    ended up being enticed in sex slavery by the girlfriend's
    father. So I vigorously support both these bills that pertain
    to trafficking.
        And then in terms to the Caesar Syria Protection Act, I
    remember, Mr. Deutch, we went to Jordan, and we met with
    refugees. If you will just indulge me on this, because I cannot
    forget the conversation we had with refugees who had fled
    Syria. They were women with their children. They had no idea
    where their husbands were, their sons were, their brothers
    were, because they had been captured by Assad, killed by Assad.
    They didn't know where they were. They were not allowed to
    work, living very meagerly. And really what they wanted was to
    return and have a life.
        Mr. Engel, I have to agree with you and Mr. Deutch when you
    say that what is happening in Syria is the greatest
    humanitarian crisis since World War II. Millions have been
    displaced, as well as hundreds of thousands killed, and it is
    destabilizing the world. It is not just about what is happening
    in Syria. What do you think Brexit is about or Le Pen in France
    is about? This is a reaction to the refugees who are trying to
    flee this horrific situation in Syria.
        And I just want to say that in terms of Assad supporting,
    backing the Christians, I will say this, that the Syrian
    Christians for Peace is a coalition that supports this bill.
    And I feel like that one day, one day, unfortunately we are
    going to look back, we are going to look back and say: Why did
    we not do more? I am looking back right now and saying that.
    And everybody on this committee should say this.
        But this is a great bill, and I am glad we are doing
    something, and I hope we can get this through. And I yield
    back.
        Chairman Royce. We go now to Adam Kinzinger and then David
    Cicilline.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to echo your
    remarks, basically the remarks of everybody except Mr.
    Rohrabacher.
        You know, Dana, you are my friend, but I literally,
    something happened during that, I officially ran out of WTFs
    during that entire speech.
        To put a moral equivalency on our action in Mosul to what
    Bashar al-Assad is doing made me honestly want to throw up. It
    was embarrassing. I think to put a moral equivalency to any of
    our allies--and, look, I will admit, we have some allies that
    are not the best of human beings, but I can't name an ally we
    have right now that indiscriminately has killed 500,000 people
    with barrel bombs and chemical weapons.
        I mean, look, I think it was Mr. Deutch that said something
    about the Russia issue--it doesn't always have to be about
    Russia. And, look, Russia plays a very bad role in Syria. This
    bill is not about Russia. This bill is about the fact that
    there is a guy that not only in the process of combat kills
    civilians--and it is not an accidental killing.
        I mean, we know that there are collateral damages that
    happen in war, and it is unfortunate, it is a fact, but he
    deliberately targets innocent civilians. Because the regime
    believes that if you kill a fighter, yeah, you get some
    benefit, but if you kill a child, the collective pain that you
    are putting on the population is hopefully enough to get them
    to relent. So they kill more and more children. They are
    totally unfazed by a child gasping for his or her last breath
    because they are choking to death on chemical weapons.
        Chemical weapons are terrible, but maybe it is a barrel
    bomb or a helicopter pilot flies and a couple guys in the back
    have a barrel that is just loaded up with a bunch of garbage
    that explodes and kills things, and just throw it out the back,
    hopefully timing it just correctly that it kills the most
    people possible.
        But beyond the combat, Mr. Chairman, beyond the combat
    deaths, we saw the tortures that happen. I was in Auschwitz 2
    or 3 weeks ago, over 1 million people killed in gas chambers
    gasping for their last breath, and we have Auschwitz maintained
    as basically almost exactly what it was left as so that we
    remember to never, ever forget what humanity is capable of and
    to defend against it. And we see the same thing happening in
    Syria.
        And it is not just the combat deaths, it is the pictures of
    the bodies that have markings next to them documenting how they
    were tortured, documenting starving to death, documenting all
    kinds of terrible things that when I went through SERE training
    and survival in the Air Force they tell you when you are
    captured, this is the kind of stuff that can happen to you, and
    it was way even beyond that.
        For any kind of moral equivalency to be leveled with us
    especially, or any of our allies, to the brutality of this
    demonic man----
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Would the gentleman----
        Mr. Kinzinger. No, I am still going. You have had enough.
    You have had enough time. I ran out of----
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Are you suggesting that----
        Mr. Kinzinger. This is my time. If the gentleman would
    please allow me to use my time.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. When you refer to another member----
        Mr. Kinzinger. You had, uninterrupted, 6 minutes to spew
    Vladimir Putin's propaganda. I am defending against that.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. When you refer to another member, the
    member has a right to ask a question.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Not when I have the time. I think we are
    cool. We know where you stand.
        So anyway, Mr. Chairman, I am just blown away by all of
    that. And I have to tell you, Bashar al-Assad, I wish he would
    be dead. But that understanding, I hope we can get to a
    negotiated solution.
        And I will not yield. I will yield back my time, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Chairman Royce. The gentleman from California was
    referenced, and, therefore, we yield him a minute.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman, which
    is the custom here, which is the courtesy custom when you
    mention someone else.
        Mr. Kinzinger. You can argue custom. Go ahead.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. I have the time.
        Not one moment do I believe I used the words ``moral
    equivalency.'' Let me just put that in the record. That is all
    I have to say right now. To repeat over and over again as if I
    said that is, again, not only--not only is it--I am hoping it
    is not malicious and that you intentionally are not trying to
    create that image for me.
        Look, it is difficult for someone who disagrees with the
    majority to stand up and have the courage enough to say, ``You
    are wrong, and this is where you are wrong.'' And that is fine.
    But to have, then, the answer be a dishonest analysis that I
    have said something that I didn't say is wrong.
        I will leave it at that.
        Chairman Royce. We now go to Mr. Cicilline and then Mr.
    Mast.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
    Engel, for holding this markup today to consider three
    important bipartisan pieces of legislation, all of which I
    support.
        The issue of how to deal with the Assad regime in Syria is
    one of the most pressing and difficult foreign policy
    challenges we face as a Nation, and I am very pleased to see
    bipartisan legislation being moved forward today by our
    committee and want to, of course, associate myself with the
    eloquent remarks of Mr. Deutch and Mr. Kinzinger with respect
    to the conduct of the Assad regime. But I have to say that I am
    disappointed that another extremely serious challenge remains
    inadequately addressed by this committee, and that is the issue
    of Russian meddling in democratic elections. It has been almost
    2 months since the hearing this committee held on Russian
    election interference was conducted. And during that hearing,
    we heard uniformly from our witnesses that Russia is actively
    engaged in cyber warfare, propaganda, and hacking in order to
    undermine democratic elections and weaken Western institutions,
    such as NATO. At the time, Chairman Royce stated correctly
    that, and I quote, ``Russia has pumped tens of millions into
    disinformation and propaganda targeting to the U.S. and Europe.
    For too long the United States' response to Russian aggression
    has been weak and ineffective, and this has to change.''
        I couldn't agree more, and that is why I hope we will soon
    consider a number of pieces of legislation that have been
    introduced in the House to deal with Russia's continued hacking
    and cyber warfare. Specifically, I have introduced a bipartisan
    resolution, along with my colleague Peter Roskam, H. Res. 172,
    which condemns Russia's election interference in Europe and
    expresses a sense of Congress that it is U.S. policy to
    sanction individuals engaged in hacking, cyber warfare, or
    other election interference activities.
        I thank the many of my colleagues on both sides of the
    aisle who have already cosponsored this legislation and ask
    that all of you consider adding your names.
        Additionally, my colleagues Ranking Member Engel and
    Congressman Connolly have also introduced legislation, the
    SECURE Our Democracy Act, which would sanction any foreign
    individual or entity found to have unlawfully meddled with a
    Federal election and would bar entry to the United States and
    freeze U.S.-based assets of anyone involved in such
    interference.
        When reports that French Presidential candidate Emmanuel
    Macron was the target of Russian hacking attempts last month
    and with the second round of French Presidential elections
    scheduled for next week, we must send a strong message to the
    Russian Government that their attempts to influence democratic
    elections will not be tolerated. If we don't unequivocally and
    on a bipartisan basis send the message that interference in
    democratic elections will have consequences, we diminish
    American leadership, we weaken our alliances, and we further
    endanger Western democratic institutions. And I sincerely hope
    that we can come together to pass legislation that is strong
    and clear in demonstrating that democratic institutions are
    sacred, and the United States will respond to those who attempt
    to interfere in free and fair elections.
        Now, turning back to the legislation at hand this morning,
    I want to emphasize my strong support for the Caesar Syria
    Civilian Protection Act, to which I am a cosponsor. I want to
    thank the chairman and ranking member for your leadership on
    this issue. If enacted, this bill will require sanctions
    against those who aid the Assad regime in acquiring goods that
    support the regime, military capabilities, as well as those who
    are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses.
        There is abundant evidence that both war crimes and crimes
    against humanity are being committed in Syria under Bashar
    Assad's regime. It is estimated that Assad is responsible for
    the deaths of more than 480,000 civilians. That number is
    staggering.
        The United States cannot stand silent if the Assad regime
    continues to commit these horrific atrocities. And I thank my
    colleagues for introducing this legislation and look forward to
    supporting its passage and signing into law.
        I am also proud to be a cosponsor to two bills dealing with
    human trafficking today. Modern-day slavery, the act of human
    trafficking, is repulsive and a violation of human rights. It
    is absolutely critical that we do everything in our power to
    prevent human trafficking while both improving and expanding
    services for trafficking victims. H.R. 1625, the TARGET Act,
    and the H.R. 2200, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims
    Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act, are two
    important bills that will help us combat human trafficking.
    Under the Targeted Rewards for Global Eradication of Human
    Trafficking Act, U.S. law enforcement officials will have the
    ability to use reward money for the capture or conviction of
    wanted terrorists and transnational criminals. The continued
    and strengthened use of a successful rewards program will help
    us in our fight to protect U.S. citizens and interests.
        And the Frederick Douglass Act incorporates a wide array of
    prevention and protection policies designed to prevent human
    trafficking and ensure that proper training and protocols are
    in place. We have to do everything we can to make sure that
    becomes law.
        And, again, I thank the sponsors for the work that they
    have done on this legislation and reemphasis my strong support.
        And I yield back the balance of my time.
        Chairman Royce. I know the gentleman from Rhode Island is
    disappointed that his resolution, his and Mr. Roskam's
    resolution, condemning Russian interference in European
    elections is not on the agenda today. He knows how I feel about
    the issue. In fact, his resolution reads a lot like the opening
    statement I have made at our recent hearings on this issue. But
    this request came to us late. So I am willing to work with him
    and the ranking member to see if it is something the committee
    would support moving ahead with.
        I would share with you that I also had a resolution that I
    wanted to bring up today, one on Iran's missile program, but
    after consultation, our goal here is to reach sort of the
    critical mass and support for these resolutions as we move
    forward.
        So I offer you my support in that endeavor, Mr. Cicilline.
    And----
        Mr. Cicilline. And I would certainly be honored to have the
    chairman join as a cosponsor of the resolution, if you would
    consider that.
        Chairman Royce. I am considering that.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
        Chairman Royce. And I appreciate your dogged determination
    here on sending a message. And it is one we, I think, all
    should be engaged in messaging.
        We now go to Brian Mast of Florida.
        Mr. Mast. I also want to thank the chairman and Ranking
    Member Engel for this markup, but for also working with me to
    en bloc an amendment to 1677 which does an outstanding job
    directing the administration to report to Congress on the
    potential protection to the Syrian people by establishing a no-
    fly zone.
        You know, the reality is, what goes on in Syria does affect
    every single one of us in this room and across this Nation. I
    have friends who are in uniform who have already bled in Syria.
    I have friends that will be heading over there this summer who
    will spend their summer on the ground there during what we
    always called the peak fighting seasons. So it affects every
    single one of us regardless of where our hometowns are.
        But while they are evaluating the benefits of a military
    tactic like no-fly zones that can stop barrel bombings and
    other strikes, my amendment directs the administration to
    report on the vital information on which any larger military
    strategy would most certainly be based upon. And with the
    adoption of this amendment, the administration is directed to
    give us the info that we need and that we deserve: Who are the
    ground forces in Syria that we are partnering with? What is the
    center of gravity for both partners and adversaries? What are
    their capabilities, their requirements, their vulnerabilities?
    We in the military, we call that a salute report: The size,
    activity, location, unit, time, equipment. What is that
    information? What the administration's strategy does to
    mitigate the vulnerabilities of our partners.
        And what I think is most important: How would success in
    Syria be measured? We need to know that information. We deserve
    to know that information.
        And I just wanted to say that I appreciate the bipartisan
    collaboration that went into drafting this amendment.
        And I do yield back any time that I have remaining.
        Chairman Royce. Thank you.
        I want to thank Mr. Mast for his good contribution to the
    Syria bill.
        And we go now to Tom Suozzi of New York.
        Mr. Suozzi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Politics in this country is perceived by the general public
    as being so divided in so many different ways. And it is such
    an honor to serve on this committee with you as chairman and
    with Mr. Engel as the ranking member. And also I want to
    associate myself with the compliments that were made by Mr.
    Smith earlier today and Karen Bass. It is really inspiring that
    so many people can work together in this committee to try and
    create a more just and safe world. And it is really a noble
    goal, and I hope it will be an inspiration to our colleagues in
    the rest of the Congress.
        I support all three bills today. I think they are excellent
    work by everybody who has put them together here. I am a proud
    cosponsor, one of the original cosponsors, of the Caesar Syria
    Civilian Protection Act, and I want to speak directly about
    that bill.
        It is so important that we send such a clear message that
    we need to do everything we can in this country to contain the
    chaos and reduce the conditions causing this mass migration
    from Syria to take the wind out of the sails of the extremists
    and to alleviate the human suffering. Every tool in the toolbox
    has to be used to try and address these underlying grievances
    of the millions of Syrians who are seeking meaningful political
    reform and economic reforms. The numbers speak for themselves
    that have been mentioned here today with the hundreds of
    thousands of people that have been killed, the millions of
    people that have been displaced, and the war crimes that are
    being committed in this region are so horrific. And we need to
    do what we can to try and address this regime and their
    backers, particularly Russia and Iran.
        Syria is really one of the tests of our generation. And the
    tyrants of the world will take note of how we deal with this
    crisis. And our moral standing and our national security are at
    stake. This bill is a step in the right direction. It
    authorizes the White House to impose sanctions on the parties
    that enable the regime and its backers to continue their
    unabashed campaign against civilians. And these sanctions will
    be suspended upon meaningful political negotiations, thereby
    encouraging the ultimate goal of a diplomatic solution to this
    conflict. It also authorizes support for organizations
    conducting war crimes investigations on all sides so that truth
    and reconciliation can hopefully one day be realized.
        I do want to say, though, that we are still waiting for
    this administration to give us a Syria policy. While the April
    6th missile strikes against the airfield in Syria were decisive
    action that I supported, they were an isolated act and not a
    strategy. And we are left to have to wonder about how the
    administration will react to this crisis. We need to hear from
    the administration about how the ideas of safe zones that they
    are proposing will actually be implemented.
        After Assad's most recent chemical attacks, Israeli
    President Reuven Rivlin said, in solidarity with the Syrian
    people, ``We know exactly how dangerous silence is, and we
    cannot remain mute,'' in reference to the international
    community's silence during the Nazi campaign against the Jews.
    Last week, I am sure most of the members of this committee
    commemorated Yom HaShoah, and many of us reiterated that the
    lessons of the Holocaust cannot be forgotten. One such lesson
    is that, under the cover of war, the most heinous and heart-
    wrenching crimes can be committed against the most vulnerable
    people. We cannot--and we cannot--remain mute.
        So I would like to, again, emphasize my support for all
    three of these bills. But I would also like to, again, thank
    Ranking Member Engel and Chairman Royce for their leadership in
    advancing the Syrian legislation.
        Thank you very much.
        Chairman Royce. Thank you.
        We go now to Ann Wagner--and we thank Ambassador Wagner for
    her contribution to the underlying bill--and then to Mr.
    Espaillat from New York.
        Ann Wagner from Missouri.
        Mrs. Wagner. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank you for
    organizing this important markup.
        I am pleased that the Frederick Douglass Trafficking
    Victims Prevention and Protection Act and the TARGET Act will
    improve America's fight against sex trafficking and forced
    labor both at home and worldwide.
        I am also pleased to cosponsor the Caesar Syria Civilian
    Protection Act and support the prosecution of war criminals who
    have committed barbaric crimes against Syria's innocent
    civilians. It is high time for Congress to move this important
    bill across the finish line.
        It is my particular honor to offer an amendment today to
    TVPA that will press countries on the State Department's
    Trafficking in Persons Tier 2 Watch List to take concrete
    actions to combat human trafficking. It will specifically
    require State Department to justify a country's TIP ranking,
    linking its actual actions to the minimum standards enumerated
    in the law.
        In addition, the amendment directs the Secretary of State,
    when determining a government's ranking, to consider the extent
    to which that government is, one, devoting sufficient resources
    to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases; two,
    providing victim restitution; and, three, protecting and
    rehabilitating victims.
        The Secretary must also consider the extent to which the
    government has consulted with civil society organizations to
    improve victim service provisions, the extent to which
    government officials participate in or facilitate human
    trafficking, and whether the government has policies that
    support the participation in or facilitation of forced labor
    and human trafficking by government officials.
        The amendment will increase government transparency by
    directing the Secretary of State to publish online a
    justification for any Tier 2 Watch List waiver, detailed
    evidence demonstrating the country's actions to combat
    trafficking, and a written plan submitted by each country to
    reach compliance.
        Together, Mr. Chairman, we will strengthen the TIP program
    and help prevent trafficking, I believe, across the globe.
        I ask my colleagues to support my amendment, and I salute
    Chairman Royce, the ranking member, and Congressman Smith for
    these tremendous bills, and I am delighted to support them all.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Royce. I see Mr. Castro is next in the queue, Mr.
    Espaillat. We go with Mr. Castro first and then you.
        Mr. Castro.
        Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairman. I want to say thank you to
    Chairman Royce and also Congressman Smith for your legislation
    on combatting human trafficking globally, but also, hopefully,
    domestically. In many places in the United States, including,
    unfortunately, the home of myself and Congressman Poe, we have
    failed the children of this country. Specifically, the State
    government in Texas has failed the children of this country.
        And I want to read you, quickly, an example of what I am
    talking about when I say that.
        Karen Bass mentioned that many of these human trafficking
    and sex trafficking victims are folks who have gone through the
    foster care system. In Texas, the State government has not
    funded the foster care system in the way that it should. And
    so, this year, there have been articles all over the news about
    how foster care kids are being made to sleep in State offices
    because there is nowhere else to put them.
        So here is a headline from April 14, 2017, just a few weeks
    ago: ``Children Sleeping in CPS Offices''--child protective
    services' offices--``Spiked in March, Mystifying Texas
    Officials.'' Children sleeping in State offices due to foster
    parent shortage because the State government has not properly
    dealt with that program.
        With respect to human trafficking and sex trafficking
    victims, the situation is even worse. Texas is reportedly the
    State in the Nation that has the most human trafficking going
    on in it. If you think about it, because of the corridors, I-35
    going from south to north, I-10 going from California to
    Florida, it makes it a hub for human trafficking in this
    country. Yet the State government, the Governor, Lieutenant
    Governor, the State leaders have not taken this problem
    seriously. They have failed the children of Texas.
        So, a few months ago, The Texas Tribune did a whole series
    on human trafficking in Texas. And this was one of the
    headlines from one of the stories. It says: ``Texas Couldn't
    Help This Sex-Trafficked Teen, So Authorities Sent Her to
    Jail.'' No one wanted Lena behind bars. She was not a
    prostitute. She was a child who had been sexually exploited.
    But teenage sex trafficking victims in Texas end up in jail for
    one simple reason: There is nowhere else for them to go. The
    State government--this is the Texas of the Texas miracle, one
    of the top 12 economies in the world that brags about how great
    its economy is and has for years; its State leaders brag about
    how many jobs they have created--have literally been sending
    these sex trafficking victims, human trafficking victims, to
    jail because they simply don't care enough to deal with the
    problem.
        So I want to thank you two gentlemen for what you are doing
    in this committee to deal with this issue, mostly globally, as
    we try to help other countries combat this issue. And I know
    this is not lost on you because I know how much you care about
    the issue. But I would remind all of us that this is still a
    very big problem within our own United States.
        And I was moved by Lois Frankel's description of going to
    Peru--I think she said she went with Congressman Poe--and what
    she saw there. But she did mention that there were shelters for
    the girls there. I would suggest that there is a visit to be
    made to the State of Texas to see the horrible job that the
    State has done in allowing these victims to end up in jail.
        Thank you guys for your legislation.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Royce. Mr. Espaillat of New York.
        Mr. Espaillat. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
    Engel.
        First, let me thank you for the bipartisan tenor with which
    this committee handles its business while allowing diverse
    opinions to be articulated. I think it is an example of how we
    can get things done and move forward from both sides of the
    aisle.
        The American people have this to learn: ``Where justice is
    denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails,
    and where any one class is made to feel that society is an
    organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither
    person nor property is safe.'' Frederick Douglass said this,
    and today we have the great honor to vote on legislation that
    bears his name.
        The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Protection Act,
    as well as the TARGET Act, take vital steps forward in
    addressing a form of modern-day slavery, because that is what
    human trafficking is: Modern-day slavery. About 18,000 people
    are trafficked to the United States each year, many are women
    and children, and most are indebted to smugglers and
    traffickers. The Douglass TVPRA Act also adds new best
    practices and accountability mechanisms for the administration
    to properly implement previous antitrafficking legislation. And
    the TARGET Act authorizes law enforcement to offer significant
    rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of
    many human traffickers internationally.
        I am also proud to lend my support for the Caesar Syria
    Civilian Protection Act of 2017. Our response to the atrocities
    and the ongoing slaughter and war crimes committed by the Assad
    regime must be part of a comprehensive strategy plan to end
    fighting in Syria, which must be approved by Congress. This
    bill requires the President to impose new sanctions on anyone
    who does business with or provides financing to the Government
    of Syria, including Syrian intelligence or security services or
    the Central Bank of Syria. And it also authorizes assistance to
    meet immediate humanitarian needs. I mourn for all those
    innocent people whose lives have been taken away by the Assad
    regime, particularly the many children who died in the barbaric
    attacks. And I am proud to lend my support to this legislation.
        Let me just finish, Mr. Chairman, by adding that much has
    been said about this piece of legislation, and it generated
    some very energetic debate. But we also must not forget that
    the Assad regime is aided and abetted by Russia. This is not a
    bill about Russia, but they would not be as aggressive as they
    are today had they not been, and continue to be, aided and
    abetted by Russia.
        Thank you Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Espaillat.
        Other members seeking recognition?
        We will go to Mr. Bill Keating of Massachusetts.
        Mr. Keating. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        And I would like to thank you and the ranking member once
    again for the three more examples. And I am proud to be a
    cosponsor of the first two of these.
        And this is another example, I believe, of this committee,
    which has had an important role since I have been in Congress,
    really moving forward again on important issues and, I must
    say, at a time when I think it is more important than before
    because we are getting, at these stages of the administration,
    very mixed messages around the world. And this committee has
    continued to be resolute. It has been clear. And it has been
    bipartisan in what has moved forward. I hope that we can be
    given the opportunity to have more of a role because it is
    critically important right now that, not only domestically, but
    internationally, people know where we stand on issues.
        And along those lines, I would just want to clarify a
    couple of things, in my opinion, that were mentioned here in
    the discussion this morning that I think are important in terms
    of clarity.
        Number one, the Caesar photos that this committee has had
    the opportunity to see indeed included Christian and Muslim
    torture victims in those photos--Christians, as well--showing
    that Assad's torture machine has not just protected Christians.
    We should be clear on that. The Assad regime is also
    responsible for over 60 percent of destroyed churches in Syria.
    We want to be clear on that as a committee and speak as loudly
    as we can. And it also underscores the importance of the bills
    in front of us today.
        Secondly, it was mentioned that H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syria
    Civilian Protection Act, targeted Russia. Well, indeed it did,
    and for good reason. And that is because, again, to try and be
    very clear, there are some in the administration that will say
    the Russians are teaming with us in our fight against ISIS, but
    the overwhelming evidence is that they are disproportionately--
    and that is dealing with military alliance with Assad's
    regime--attacking Syrian civilians in the very measures that we
    are talking about, the atrocities we are talking about here.
    And as they do that, it is wholly appropriate that we include
    them in sanctions. They are, in effect, including themselves in
    these sanctions rather than being included or targeted
    directly.
        So I wanted to be clear on those measures.
        I want to thank the members and the leadership of this
    committee for their work. I am encouraged that we can go
    forward and continue to be a very strong, resolute, clear, and
    bipartisan voice on the important issues that affect the United
    States of America and our allies around the world.
        Thank you.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Royce. I thank Mr. Keating.
        Hearing no further requests for recognition, the question
    occurs on the items considered en bloc.
        All those in favor, say aye.
        All opposed, no.
        In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The measures
    considered en bloc are agreed to.
        Without objection, the measures considered en bloc are
    ordered favorably reported, as amended. Staff is directed to
    make any technical and conforming changes.
        The chair is authorized to seek House consideration under
    suspension of the rules.
        That concludes our business for today.
        I want to thank Ranking Member Engel.
        I want to thank all our committee members for their
    contributions and assistance in today's markup.
        The committee stands adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:29 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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