[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                       MARKUP OF VARIOUS MEASURES

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

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                            OCTOBER 21, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-85

                               __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
        
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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                  GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York, Chairman

BRAD SHERMAN, California             MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Ranking 
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey                  Member
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia	     CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida	     STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
KAREN BASS, California		     JOE WILSON, South Carolina
WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts	     SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island	     DARRELL ISSA, California
AMI BERA, California		     ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas		     LEE ZELDIN, New York
DINA TITUS, Nevada		     ANN WAGNER, Missouri
TED LIEU, California		     BRIAN MAST, Florida
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania	     BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota	     KEN BUCK, Colorado
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota		     TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
COLIN ALLRED, Texas		     MARK GREEN, Tennessee
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 ANDY BARR, Kentucky
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, Virginia	     GREG STEUBE, Florida
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania	     DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey	     CLAUDIA TENNEY, New York
ANDY KIM, New Jersey          	     AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
SARA JACOBS, California    	     PETER MEIJER, Michigan
KATHY MANNING, North Carolina	     NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York
JIM COSTA, California		     RONNY JACKSON, Texas
JUAN VARGAS, California		     YOUNG KIM, California
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas 	     MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois

                    Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
               Brendan Shields, Republican Staff Director
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

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                                                                   Page

                  INFORMATION SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

Information submitted for the record.............................     3

                       BILLS, RESOLUTIONS EN BLOC

H.R. 5497........................................................    10
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 5497 offered by 
  Mr. Meeks of New York..........................................    69
Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 
  5497 offered by Mr. Perry of Pennsylvania......................   125
H. Res. 569......................................................   126
H. Res. 445......................................................   132
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H. Res. 445 offered by 
  Ms. Bass of California.........................................   147
H. Res. 720......................................................   157
H.R. 4914........................................................   187
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 4914 offered by 
  Mr. McCaul of Texas............................................   202
Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 
  4914 offered by Mr. Perry of Pennsylvania......................   224
Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 
  4914 offered by Mr. Perry of Pennsylvania......................   228

                                APPENDIX

Hearing Notice...................................................   232
Hearing Minutes..................................................   234
Hearing Attendance...............................................   235

                        STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD

Statement for the record submitted from Representative Jacobs....   236

                  INFORMATION SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

Information submitted for the record.............................   237

                             MARKUP SUMMARY

Markup Summary...................................................   251

 
                       MARKUP OF VARIOUS MEASURES

                       Thursday, October 21, 2021

                          House of Representatives,
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:15 p.m., in 
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Gregory Meeks 
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Chairman Meeks [presiding]. The Committee on Foreign 
Affairs will come to order.
    And without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a 
recess of the committee at any point.
    Pursuant to Committee Rule 4, the chair may postpone 
further proceedings on approving any measure or matter or 
adopting an amendment.
    Without objection, all members will have 5 days to submit 
statements or extraneous materials on today's business.
    To insert statements into the record, please have your 
staff email the previously circulated address or contact full 
committee staff.
    As a reminder to members joining remotely, please keep your 
video function on at all times, even when not recognized by the 
chair.
    Members are responsible for muting and unmuting themselves. 
Consistent with House rules, staff will only mute members, as 
appropriate, when they are not under recognitions, to eliminate 
background noise.
    I see that we have a quorum.
    We are, first, going to do a quick unanimous consent 
agreement between me and the ranking member.
    And I now recognize the ranking member.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I have a unanimous consent request.
    Chairman Meeks. The ranking member is recognized for the 
unanimous consent request.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    For purposes of Section 4820(h)(2)(B) of Title 50 0f the 
United States Code, and premised upon the National Interest 
Determination described therein, I ask unanimous consent that 
the committee authorize the disclosure of some non-business 
confidential aggregate data derived from documents provided to 
the committee by the Department of Commerce on May 18, 2021, 
regarding export licensing decisions concerning entities on the 
Entity List. Such authorization does not include the disclosure 
of the applicants' names, trademarks, or brand names, item 
descriptions, or ECCN or license numbers. And the Department of 
Commerce will provide additional context on the export control 
licensing process which will be included with the aggregate 
data being authorized for disclosure.
    Chairman Meeks. So ordered.
    And the chairman and ranking member have reached an 
agreement that the aggregate data contained in these two 
documents are to be released, consistent with 50 U.S.C. 
4820(h)(2)(B)(ii). And I'm placing these documents into the 
record.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chairman Meeks. I want to thank the ranking member for his 
UC request and for working together to get a mutually agreed-
upon arrangement.
    Now let's move on to the markup.
    As members were notified yesterday, we intend to, first, 
consider four measures and their amendment en bloc. We will, 
then, move to consider one measure and its amendments 
separately. Any roll call votes will be postponed until the end 
of the markup.
    Pursuant to notice, for purposes of markup, I now call up 
the measures and their amendments that were previously 
circulated to members' offices.
    Without objection, they will be considered en bloc, and 
each measure is considered as read and the amendments to each 
are considered as read and are agreed to.
    And without objection, after remarks, the committee will 
vote to order the measures favorably reported en bloc, as 
amended, if amended, and any amendment or amendments to each 
bill shall be reported as a single amendment in the nature of a 
substitute.
    The measures in the en bloc package are:
    H.R. 5497, the BURMA Act of 2021, with a Perry Amendment 
No. 138.
    H.Res. 569, Expressing continued solidarity with the 
Lebanese people after the devastating explosions at the Port of 
Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the continued efforts to form a 
secure, independent, and democratic Lebanon.
    H.Res. 445, Condemning all violence and human rights abuses 
in Ethiopia, and calling on the government of Ethiopia and the 
government of the State of Eritrea to remove all Eritrean 
troops from Ethiopia, and for all belligerents in the conflict, 
including the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, the Tigray 
People's Liberation Front, and Amhara regional forces, and 
other armed groups, to cease all hostilities, protect human 
rights, allow unfettered humanitarian access, and cooperate 
with independent investigations of credible atrocity 
allegations.
    H.Res. 720, Calling for stability and the cessation of 
violence and condemning ISIS-affiliated terrorist activity in 
northern Mozambique, including the Cabo Delgado Province, and 
for other purposes.
    And H.R. 5497, the BURMA Act of 2021 with the Perry 
Amendment No. 369.
    [The bill, resolutions, and associated amendments en bloc 
follow:]

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Chairman Meeks. I now recognize myself to speak on the en 
block package.
    I support all of these bipartisan measures. As chair of the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee, I take seriously this 
committee's responsibility to identify and respond to human 
rights abuses taking place around the world. From day one, this 
committee has worked tirelessly to do just that, whether it be 
on behalf of the Uyghurs, who face genocide in China; the 
women, youth, and minority groups of Afghanistan whose futures 
are at risk under the Taliban; the people who facing crises on 
multiple fronts throughout Ethiopia or in Cambodia, in Haiti, 
in Iran, El Salvador, in Russia, in Belarus. You name it, time 
and again, this committee has, and will continue, to work 
vigorously to respond to human rights abuses in a swift, 
forceful, and responsible manner.
    The measures being considered today continue this 
committee's important responsibility for helping those in need 
of our country's help and support.
    I was proud to introduce H.R. 5497, the BURMA Act of 2021, 
along with Ranking Member McCaul and Representatives Bera and 
Chabot, chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia, 
the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, respectively.
    And my thanks to Mr. Chabot and Mr. McCaul, in particular, 
for working with me
    [audible malfunction] bipartisan.
    Democracy is under threat around the world, and Congress 
cannot, and must not, stand idly by when a thuggish military 
blatantly disregards the will of citizens, as happened in Burma 
in February. This legislation imposes targeted sanctions in 
response to the illegal and illegitimate coup and the ensuing 
human rights abuses, which has cost the lives of over a 
thousand people and displaced thousands more.
    We need to support the Burmese people in their struggle for 
human rights and a path toward democracy. My bill authorizes 
State and USAID to provide greater civil society and 
humanitarian support in Burma and surrounding countries. It 
calls on the State Department to finally make a determination 
as to whether the repression of the Rohingya constitutes war 
crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide; position the 
United States to step up diplomatic pressure on Burma, and 
calls for the United Nations to take more decisive action 
against the military, to send a powerful message.
    This bill has been endorsed by over 240 Burmese diaspora 
and civil society organizations, as well as the National Unity 
Government. There is overwhelming support for this bill from 
those fighting for freedom in Burma. Let's show them that we 
stand in solidarity with the people of Burma.
    H.Res. 445, by Representative Bass, chair of the 
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, 
condemns all violence and human rights abuses throughout 
Ethiopia, and calls on all combatants to cease hostilities, 
protect human rights, allow unfettered humanitarian access, and 
cooperate with independent investigations of atrocities carried 
out by all sides.
    The crisis in northern Ethiopia threatens the fabric and 
stability of the country and the Greater Horn of Africa. And 
this resolution comes at a time when the government of Ethiopia 
has lost a fresh offensive and airstrikes in recent days.
    The United States and the international community continue 
to implore all parties to the conflict to consider the 
economic, political, and humanitarian consequences of a 
conflict that is spiraling out of control. This committee 
remains deeply troubled by ongoing reports of rampant human 
abuse, human rights abuses, excessive and targeted ethnic 
violence, and humanitarian blockages that have caused the death 
and displacement of so many innocent people.
    This important resolution lays out specific steps all 
stakeholders should take, including the government of Ethiopia, 
the United States, and other members of the international 
community, to encourage an end to the conflict, establish a 
meaningful and inclusive national dialog, and provide 
humanitarian support for the most vulnerable populations 
throughout the country.
    This resolution is another measure that demonstrates the 
United States' commitment to bringing an end to this violent 
and devastating conflict. The humanitarian crisis in northern 
Ethiopia remains the subject of great attention by this 
committee, and I'm grateful to my colleague for her work on 
this resolution.
    A resolution by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs condemns the 
violence targeting of civilians and terrorist attacks carried 
out by ISIS in Mozambique, in the northern Mozambican Province 
of Cabo Delgado. I am deeply concerned about the ongoing 
humanitarian crisis created by relentless and brutal attacks on 
innocent people, including young children in Cabo Delgado 
Province, but I am encouraged by the work regional partners, 
such as Rwanda and South Africa, have done to help quell some 
of the violent attacks and retake territory from ISIS.
    The government of Mozambique must continue to work with the 
international community to address the widespread displacement, 
food and security, and economic devastation brought about by 
the years of long violence in the north. The United States has 
demonstrated its commitment to support the Mozambican 
government in this regard, as well as through security sector 
assistance provided by the Department of State and the 
Department of Defense.
    This resolution calls on the Mozambican government to work 
with us and the broader international community to help bring 
an end to the conflict, provide humanitarian support to the 
vulnerable and displaced populations in Cabo Delgado, and 
promote human rights and the rule of law, as they work to 
address instability in the north.
    The committee will continue to watch these developments 
closely, and I am heartened to see colleagues' hard work and 
dedication to moving this resolution forward.
    And finally, H.Res. 569 expresses solidarity for the 
Lebanese following the devastating explosions at the Port of 
Beirut on August 4th, 2020, and causing the Lebanese government 
to investigate the blast, boot out corruption, and work closely 
with international organizations, like the IMF and the World 
Bank, to stabilize the economy.
    Lebanon continues to struggle with prolonged fiscal 
challenges and humanitarian needs. And I, along with a number 
of Members, have called for a continued U.S. engagement and 
support to address these crises.
    Finally, as tensions on the investigation into the blast 
rise, it is imperative that we make clear we support the right 
of the Lebanese people to engage in peaceful demonstration and 
assembly in order to achieve accountability, democratic 
political representation, increased civil rights, anti-
corruption reforms.
    I strongly support all the measures that we are considering 
today in the en bloc, and I urge all members to do the same.
    I now recognize our ranking member, Mr. McCaul of Texas, 
for his remarks.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this 
markup. And I also want to thank you for including my Havana 
Syndrome Attacks Response Act. I really appreciate you working 
with me on this important bill, and our updated text will be 
reflected in the ANS I will offer today.
    I would also like to thank Mr. LaHood and Mr. Issa for 
their work on a bipartisan resolution, continued solidarity 
with the Lebanese people after the devastating explosions at 
the Port of Beirut last August. Their resolution also 
highlights Iran's and Hezbollah's destructive, destabilizing 
activities in Lebanon. And it's important to show bipartisan 
support for their continued efforts to form a secure, 
independent, and democratic Lebanon.
    I'm proud to be the lead cosponsor on several measures of 
today's markup: Chairman Meeks' BURMA Act; Representative 
Jacobs' resolution calling for stability in northern Mozambique 
and condemning ISIS-affiliated terrorists, and Representative 
Bass' resolution condemning all violence and human rights 
abuses in Ethiopia.
    Just within the last few days, the fighting in northern 
Ethiopia has intensified. The humanitarian need is 
catastrophic. The people are dying of starvation, going days 
without food, and some have resorted to eating leaves.
    The Ethiopian government must allow food, trucks, fuel, and 
medical supplies to enter Tigray, and response efforts need to 
expand into the Afar and the Amhara regions. In my assessment, 
the horrific reports that have emerged, including the discovery 
of mass graves and the use of rape and starvation as weapons of 
war, are just the tip of the iceberg of the atrocities that 
have been committed. Innocent civilians are paying the price of 
this brutal war, and all sides are guilty. The fighting must 
stop immediately.
    Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to talk about one measure 
that is not on today's markup. Our members requested that this 
committee consider House Resolution 701, a resolution of 
inquiry to seek specific information on the Biden 
Administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Since mid-August, 
I have sent the Administration seven letters seeking specific 
facts and information about the Afghanistan withdrawal and its 
aftermath. I still have not received any satisfactory responses 
to my questions.
    And as you know, Mr. Chairman, resolutions of inquiry have 
been a privileged oversight tool for over 200 years. According 
to the House rule in place since 1879, once filed, they are 
entitled to a prompt committee markup, and they are a tool 
regularly used by the minority, including by many House 
Democrats during the prior Administration.
    So, I was disappointed to learn that Democrat leaders 
quietly threw this centuries-old precedent out the window, 
protecting the Biden Administration from answering basic 
questions about their many self-inflicting crises. They did 
this by burying in a rule that they have quietly and repeatedly 
extended.
    This committee has a long history of prioritizing national 
security over politics, of working together in a bipartisan 
fashion. There is bipartisan support for a full and vigorous 
investigation into what caused the botched withdrawal from 
Afghanistan.
    I appreciate the hearing we had with Secretary Blinken and 
your request for his dissent cable, Mr. Chairman, and I hope we 
can do more on this. I wish this resolution could have been 
included in today's markup. I hope we may be able to consider 
it in the future.
    I ask unanimous consent to submit for today's record the 
text of the resolution of inquiry introduced by 23 members of 
this committee on October the 5th.
    Chairman Meeks. Without objection.
    [The information referred to follows:]

    ********* COMMITTEE INSERT 3 **********
    Mr. McCaul. And thank you, Mr. Chairman. And with that, I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairman Meeks. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member.
    Let me just quickly respond to the ranking member. I note 
that the ranking member is raising his resolution of inquiry in 
his opening remarks, and I really appreciate his desire to 
conduct oversight on Afghanistan and, in particular, on the 
withdrawal that unfolded in August 2021.
    And this committee will certainly continue to assess those 
20 days. But I also hope that we can also acknowledge the 
strategic failure in Afghanistan wasn't simply about those 20 
days in August, but, rather, about the past 20 years of our 
involvement in the country. And any honest or credible review 
of the withdrawal and evacuation efforts must also include a 
broader look at the years of Afghanistan policy.
    And I just also want to be clear that this committee will 
continue its oversight work, work that we began even prior to 
the President's announcement this past April that the United 
States would follow through on withdrawal of troops from 
Afghanistan.
    Last, I also think it is important for the record to show 
that, in this Congress alone, House leadership and this 
committee have held more than 30 Member or staff-level 
briefings and hearings, unclassified and classified, with 
current and former Administration officials, with international 
organizations and outside experts on Afghanistan. And there are 
more to come.
    And I am compelled to point out to the ranking member's, 
you know, that I wish it had not happened in the past. It was a 
failure of Republican leadership to conduct rigorous oversight 
during the previous Administration, including the deal the 
former President had with the Taliban.
    Let me, also, say that oversight is at the heart of this 
committee's activities, and moving forward, we will continue 
our critical oversight function.
    So, with that, I now recognize members of the committee by 
seniority, alternating between Democrats and Republicans, for 
the purpose of speaking on the en bloc package. If you miss 
your turn, please let our staff know, and we will come back to 
you.
    I now recognize Representative Brad Sherman for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Sherman. Thank you.
    I support all four of the bills in the en bloc.
    Briefly, I commend Mr. LaHood for bringing forth the 
resolution, so that we can support and stand in solidarity with 
the Lebanese people and for a secure, independent, and 
democratic Lebanon.
    Chairman Meeks. You're on mute, Mr. Sherman. You're on 
mute.
    Mr. Sherman. Can I be heard?
    Mr. Levin. Mr. Chairman, I hear him.
    Mr. Sherman. Can I be heard?
    Mr. Levin. Yes.
    Mr. Sherman. Mr. Chairman, can you hear me?
    Chairman Meeks. We cannot hear you, Mr. Sherman. We will 
come back to you.
    We will come back to Mr. Sherman.
    Mr. Levin. Mr. Chairman, the issue may be in the committee 
room.
    Chairman Meeks. I yield now to Representative Ted Deutch of 
Florida, the chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, 
North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism.
    Mr. Levin. Mr. Chair, we can all hear him.
    Mr. Sherman. Can I be heard?
    Mr. Levin. I do not think he can hear any of us.
    Chairman Meeks. As we try to resolve the problems of audio, 
we will go to Representative Karen Bass, who is here, of 
California, who is the chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, 
Global Health, and Global Human Rights.
    Ms. Bass. The benefits of being here.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member McCaul, and African 
Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Smith, for helping to lead 
this bipartisan ANS to H.Res. 445, Condemning all violence and 
human rights abuses in Ethiopia, and calling for all combatants 
in the conflict in northern Ethiopia to cease all hostilities, 
respect human rights, allow unfettered humanitarian access, and 
cooperate with independent investigations of credible atrocity 
allegations on all sides.
    I recently led a quick trip to Ethiopia, where 
Representative Jacobs and I met with Prime Minister Abiy and 
other government officials and civil society, to see how the 
international community can assist in helping to stop the 
violence that has killed thousands and left more fleeing their 
homes. I want to reiterate that I do not believe that there is 
a military solution to this conflict, and I am concerned the 
country is fracturing and will only get worse without a 
national dialog.
    I am also concerned that Ethiopia is in danger of sanctions 
from the Administration, as well as compromising its ability to 
participate in AGOA, if the violence continues.
    While in Ethiopia, I met not only with the Prime Minister 
and members of the cabinet, but also with the Ethiopia Human 
Rights Commission, the U.N. Special Envoy for the Horn of 
Africa, and the Ethiopian Parliament, the International 
Committee of the Red Cross, YALI Fellows, and the Chamber of 
Commerce.
    Representative Jacobs and I wanted to hear all sides on the 
issue on the ground and articulate that the only way forward is 
negotiated peace. No one ethnic group or party can say that 
they are winning during this conflict. It is bad for people's 
welfare and the country overall.
    This conflict is also hurting the country's economy and 
negatively affecting the ability to conduct business. It is 
also having a post-traumatic effect on young people and people 
in general that are deeply disturbed by the conflict and 
violence and just want their country to return to peace.
    The conflict in the Tigray region alone has forced 60,000 
Ethiopians to seek safety in Sudan; 24 million across the 
country are suffering from food insecurity. Ethiopia has always 
been a pillar of the continent and a key contributor to 
advancing peace and security across the region.
    While visiting the country, I also urged the government to 
allow humanitarian assistance into the country, particularly in 
Tigray, and let workers do their jobs without harassment or 
threat of violence.
    Like some of my colleagues on this committee, I have a 
large Ethiopian diaspora in my district in California, and I 
have tried to hear all sides of the situation. And I am fully 
aware that all stakeholders have a part in contributing to the 
conflict in the country.
    I want to lead this resolution because I want to see a 
peaceful resolution to this multifaceted conflict that is 
complicated by ethnicity, politics, history, and a desire for 
power.
    The resolution calls for the immediate cessation of the 
violence between all combatants in the conflict in Ethiopia. It 
denounces the harassment and intimidation of journalists and 
AID workers and the expulsion of senior U.N. officials 
responsible for supporting humanitarian response efforts. It 
urges the government of Ethiopia to cooperate with independent 
and transparent investigations of all human rights abuses and 
atrocities committed by all sides in the course of the conflict 
in northern Ethiopia, and immediately granting full and 
unfettered humanitarian access for personnel and supplies, 
including necessary commodities like fuel and medicine into 
areas affected by the conflict.
    It is reported that there needs to be as many as 100 trucks 
a day going into the Tigray region. What we learned while we 
were there is that less than 10 trucks a day go, but, also, 
many of the trucks are not returned. And so, the trucks need to 
be returned from the Tigray region as well.
    Mr. Chairman, I would also like to speak on another 
bipartisan resolution led by my friend from California, 
Representative Jacobs, H.Res. 720, Calling for stability and 
the cessation of violence, and condemning the ISIS-affiliated 
terrorist activity in northern Mozambique. The resolution, 
among other things, encourages the government of Mozambique to 
ensure humanitarian workers have access to vulnerable 
populations where the violence is constant.
    And I ask my colleagues to support this resolution and all 
the other resolutions en bloc.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentlelady yields back.
    I now recognize Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey, 
who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global 
Health, and Global Human Rights, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Smith. Thank you very, very much, Mr. Chairman.
    A couple of years ago, August 2018, Karen Bass and I 
traveled to Ethiopia together; met with Prime Minister Abiy, 
who was in the beginning of his term. And we were greatly 
impressed with the leadership he was showing. Obviously, he got 
the Nobel Peace Prize. And what a difference a couple of years 
have made.
    There are serious problems now in Ethiopia, as we all know, 
and H.Res. 445, offered by Karen, condemns all violence and 
human rights abuses in Ethiopia and seeks accountability and, 
hopefully, reconciliation.
    Ethiopia, as we all know, is a great nation dating back 
thousands of years. Ethiopia is ethnically and religiously 
diverse, and its diaspora has deeply enriched life in the 
United States.
    It is also of great
    [audio malfunction] in the Horn of Africa and as a gateway 
to eastern and central Africa. It is the source of the Blue 
Nile, which has brought it into conflict with Egypt. Because of 
its location and outside significance, it is being targeted by 
radical Islamists and the Chinese Communist Party. As we speak, 
Ethiopia is a country on the verge of implosion.
    Today's resolution, which has been worked on meticulously 
by Chairwoman Bass, Chairman Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, and 
me, reflects changes that have taken place in Ethiopia since 
the conflict began in Tigray province in November of last year.
    This urgent resolution strives to be evenhanded and 
recognizes the fact that much of Ethiopia is currently in a 
profound state of unrest, not simply Tigray. It recognizes all 
bad actors, not simply singling out the Ethiopian government 
and the Amhara regional government, but also the Oromo 
Liberation Army and the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, or 
TPLF. The TPLF, of course, governed Ethiopia with a very heavy 
hand for decades under the strong-arm rule of Prime Minister 
Meles, and bears an enormous responsibility for the unrest we 
see unfolding now.
    First, because it created a system of ethnic federalism 
which created regional States divided upon ethnic lines. That 
has inevitably led to discord and ethnic cleansing.
    Second, because the TPLF precipitated the immediate crisis, 
as the resolution acknowledges, by leading an attack on the 
northern command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.
    And third, after the Ethiopian government had declared a 
unilateral cease-fire, by ignoring it and taking the conflict 
into Amhara and Afar States.
    I would note, parenthetically, back in 2005, I visited with 
President Meles after he had an egregiously flawed election, 
and then, introduced the human rights bill to hold him and his 
government accountable. Don Payne, who was then my ranking 
member, joined me in that. And we did, together, get the bill 
passed in the House. Unfortunately, it died in the Senate.
    The resolution also recognizes that, just as each group in 
Ethiopia has its share of victimizers, each group does have its 
share of victims, whether from Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Ogaden, 
or Afar--the list goes on. This is one of the great tragedies 
of Ethiopia, inter-ethnic violence as well as intra-ethnic 
violence. It threatens to shatter this great diverse nation.
    Mr. Chairman, according to the World Food Program report 
issued this month, there are now 1.7 million people facing 
emergency levels of hunger in the Afar and Amhara regions and 
over 700,000 in Amhara and 140,000 in Afar being displaced.
    H.Res. 445 calls for the cessation of all hostilities, 
unfettered humanitarian access, and respect of human rights, 
and calls for independent investigations of credible atrocity 
allegations.
    I also want to express, briefly, my strong support for 
H.Res. 569, authored by Mr. LaHood, Expressing continued 
solidarity with the Lebanese people after the devastating 
explosions in the Port of Beirut on August 4th, 2020, which 
also resulted in the death of 218 individuals and wounded an 
estimated 7,000. Some estimates say that one-half of the city 
of Beirut was damaged.
    Accordingly, H.Res. 569 calls on Lebanon to perform a 
thorough and transparent investigation into the tragedy and 
hold those responsible accountable. It presses Lebanon to 
continue efforts to build the rule of law and respect 
fundamental rights, and it calls for combating terrorist groups 
like Hezbollah, ISIS, and Al Qaeda. In particular, the 
resolution is important because it does condemn Hezbollah, 
which, backed by Iran, is responsible for so much of what 
afflicts Lebanon and also threatens our good friend and ally, 
Israel.
    I yield back the balance of my time, and I thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time has expired.
    I now recognize Representative Brad Sherman of California 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Sherman. I rise in support of the en bloc and all four 
measures included in it.
    I commend Mr. LaHood for bringing forward the resolution in 
support of our solidarity with the Lebanese people and a 
secure, independent, and democratic Lebanon.
    I commend Sara Jacobs for her resolution condemning the 
ISIS-affiliated terrorist activities in norther Mozambique.
    I commend the chairman for so many things, but including 
his BURMA Act, an act that I have cosponsored not only today, 
but in prior Congresses. It is tragic to see what is happening 
in Burma, what the government there calls Myanmar. And we do 
need to react to twin tragedies. One is the loss of democracy 
with the Tatmadaw taking over, and it is entirely appropriate, 
as this resolution provides or as this bill provides, that we 
stop the importation of precious and semiprecious gemstones; 
that we create a special coordinator for Burmese democracy; 
that we work multinationally to impose sanctions on the 
Myanmar-Burma regime.
    But we cannot speak of Burma or Myanmar without also 
focusing on the Rohingya people. And that is why this bill also 
calls for the State Department to issue a genocide 
determination. The government of Myanmar-Burma must, if it 
wishes to continue to have international support in exercising 
sovereignty on the Rakhine State, show that it is willing to 
defend the people who live there, and have a right to live 
there. And that certainly includes the Rohingya. It starts by 
giving them full citizenship documentation and protecting them, 
rather than exposing them to violence.
    And finally, we have the resolution on Ethiopia, on Tigray. 
What we see there is tragic so far. We see 70 or 80 thousand 
Tigrayans who have fled to Sudan, and we have to do everything 
we can to help them. But we see millions of Tigrayans who face 
death from starvation and attendant diseases. And we see a 
blockade of Tigray, not even allowing in U.N. food and 
medicine. The bodies we see in the river are just the tip of 
the iceberg. We could be seeing millions of deaths.
    That is why this bill calls, also, for the State Department 
to determine whether we are witnesses a genocide in Tigray. 
This is why the United States must provide the diplomatic tools 
to move toward a cease-fire, and why we must encourage the 
African Union and other regional partners to play a role in 
mediating this crisis.
    But first and foremost is the urgent delivery of 
humanitarian aid. And nothing is more outrageous than the 
blockade of the trucks trying to get in. We do need to explore 
bringing in humanitarian by air, whether it be by landing the 
planes or dropping the aid. But we can only bring in a small 
portion of the aid that is necessary. We need the trucks.
    What is perhaps most outrageous is the Eritrean blockade of 
the border between Tigray and Sudan. I am reluctant to expose 
American Armed Forces to risk of their safety at anytime, but 
the American Navy could interrupt Eritrean commerce on the high 
seas at anytime, and it would certainly be just to do so, as 
long as Eritrea blockades humanitarian aid to the people of 
Tigray.
    So, we need to pass this bill now, but we need to look at 
more forceful actions as well, to make sure that, while we deal 
with the politics of northern Ethiopia, we at least make sure 
that we are not witnessing another Rwanda, another near-
genocide or genocide, or a mass starvation event.
    And for the cross-border terrorism or cross-border 
interdiction of critically needed humanitarian assistance to be 
carried out by Eritrean forces is simply outrageous, and there 
is something we can do about it without undue risk to our 
forces. I know that.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time has expired.
    Votes have been called on the House floor. I believe we 
have two votes on the House floor.
    So, the committee will stand in recess until after House 
votes.
    [Recess.]
    Chairman Meeks. Committee will now come in session. I now 
recognize Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, who's the 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, 
Central Asia, and Nonproliferation for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Chabot. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And it has already been mentioned that we have a number of 
very good bills before us today, including Mr. Issa and Mr. 
LaHood's resolution on the worsening situation in Lebanon, and 
Ranking Member McCaul's bill on Havana Syndrome and a number of 
others.
    But in the interest of time I'm going to focus my remarks 
on H.R. 5497, the Burma Act, legislation which you, Mr. 
Chairman, and I introduced in response to the worsening 
situation in Burma.
    Let me begin with some history about this legislation. Back 
in September 2017, the Burmese military began a genocidal 
campaign to permanently drive the Rohingya out of Burma, which 
resulted in over 700,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing from Rakhine 
State, Burma, into neighboring Bangladesh. They remain there 
today without any realistic or meaningful hope at this point at 
least of returning home.
    This campaign consisted of widespread systematic and 
premeditated human rights abuses, horrific stuff, including 
barbaric killings, gang rapes, and the burning of around 400 
Rohingya villages. According to a partial State Department 
report on these atrocities, about half of the Rohingya surveyed 
said that they had personally witnesses a rape, while about 80 
percent had witnessed personally killings and the destruction 
of villages.
    In response to these atrocities, then-Ranking Member Eliot 
Engel and I crafted the predecessor of this legislation, which 
would have imposed sanctions on the military and deployed 
several other tools to address longstanding concerns about 
Burma. While the legislation passed in the House several times, 
the Senate failed to take it up.
    Fast-forward to February 1 of this year, and as everyone 
here knows, the Burmese military seized control in a coup and 
detained Aung San Suu Kyi and President (inaudible) several 
other NLD elected officials, and a significant number of 
innocent civilians.
    The generals have seized power before. But this time, the 
response has been different. The people of Burma, who come from 
all walks of life, from students, to doctors, to government 
workers, to farmers have courageously stood up against the 
military with peaceful protest and mass strikes and other civil 
disobedience.
    The military's response has been predictably brutal. The 
crackdown has thus far killed over 1,000 people and left over 
7,000 in prison. This repression has pushed the country toward 
civil war as the generals stubbornly refuse to restore 
democracy. This coup is a blatant violation of the rights of 
the Burmese people.
    Self-government is not some sort of temporary arrangement 
or gift from the military, it's a right that's owed to the 
people of Burma. The generals cannot simply back out of 
democracy when it no longer serves their purposes.
    We updated the Burma Act to provide some measure of 
accountability for both the genocide back in 2017 and this 
year's coup, and to reflect the sanctions the Biden 
Administration has already imposed on the Burmese military. The 
new version of the legislation will levy stronger sanctions and 
provide additional assistance to the people of Burma.
    Mr. Chairman, this legislation could go a long way toward 
putting Burma back on the path toward democracy. It's way 
overdue that we enact legislation to sanction the Burmese 
military for its many crimes, so I would urge my colleagues to 
support this critical legislation.
    And before I close, I'd like to mention just two others 
things. First, as I've said many times before, we need to take 
seriously, very seriously, the challenge of the Chinese 
Community Party. And it's clear that the Commerce Department 
unfortunately isn't acting up to where they need to be.
    A few days ago, China, for example, tested a game-changing 
hypersonic missile. They got the technology from us. So I would 
like to associate myself with comments of the Ranking Member 
McCaul.
    The PRC is getting more and more dangerous. And we cannot 
afford to have anyone involved in our national security effort 
that's not operating at peak performance. To me, it sounds like 
someone was asleep at the switch, considering that this missile 
took virtually everybody by surprise.
    And like Ranking Member McCaul, I also want to address an 
item before I close that we are not marking up today, and 
that's that at the beginning of this month, Mr. McCaul and a 
lot of us, including myself, introduced H.Res 701, a resolution 
of inquiry seeking information from the Administration 
regarding the Afghan withdrawal debacle and the decisionmaking 
behind this national disgrace.
    Such a resolution is supposed to be privileged either here 
in committee or on the floor. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi is 
so scared of proper oversight of the Biden Administration that 
the Rules Committee has turned off the privilege for 
resolutions of inquiry, a privilege that's existed for about 
200 years.
    We have a constitutional oversight responsibility, this 
committee does, and on this score the majority is failing to 
fulfill its duty to the American people. And with that, I yield 
back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time has expired. I now 
recognize Representative Sara Jacobs of California, who is the 
Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on International Development, 
International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact 
for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Jacobs. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for 
supporting my resolution calling for stability and the 
cessation of violence in northern Mozambique.
    My team and I actually did some research and found out that 
this is the first time the Committee has marked up legislation 
on Mozambique since the year 2000, which just so happened to be 
your resolution, Mr. Chair. So I am proud that we are shining a 
light on the situation in the country today.
    I also want to thank Chairwoman Bass and Congresswoman Kim 
for partnering with me. This bipartisan resolution not only 
condemns the violence perpetrated by ISIS Mozambique against 
civilians and children, but also calls attention to the 
underlying grievances fueling violent extremism in northern 
Mozambique, including human rights violations by security 
forces, steep corruption, and historical socio-economic 
marginalization on Cabo Delgado.
    It urges the government of Mozambique to address the 
conflict and restore security in a manner that respects 
civilians and human rights and encourages donor governments to 
consider this in their support as well.
    We need to make sure our approach and the international 
community's approach is not just through a counterterrorism 
lens, but is actually taking a comprehensive approach to 
address the conflict. And this resolution calls on us to do 
just that.
    If we're serious about calling for an end to this violence, 
we need to get serious about the factors that are driving it. 
I'm proud to lead this important resolution, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
    I'd also like to speak on Chairwoman Bass's resolution on 
Ethiopia.
    I, like many of my colleagues, have been following the 
devastating conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern 
Ethiopia that began in Tigray over the past several months, and 
it's heartbreaking. I recently traveled to Ethiopia with 
Chairwoman Bass, and I can say that this conflict is extremely 
complicated with a lot of legitimate historical grievances from 
all parties.
    This resolution takes the important step of recognizing the 
horrific atrocities taking place and urging for perpetrators to 
immediately cease violence against civilians.
    I'd also like to recognize and condemn the recent military 
air strikes against Tigray's capital, Mekelle, which has 
reportedly resulted in the loss of civilian lives, including 
children. We are also increasingly seeing deteriorating 
humanitarian situations in both Afar and Amhara, with enduring 
challenges with humanitarian access and mass internal 
displacement.
    The people of Ethiopia are suffering. Lives are ending 
needlessly, and the violence must stop. I thank the Chairwoman 
for her leadership on this issue, and I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentlelady yields back the balance of 
her time.
    Mr. Connolly. Would the--excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Would the 
gentlelady yield to me? This is Mr. Connolly.
    Ms. Jacobs. Sure.
    Mr. Connolly. I thank the gentlelady.
    And I certainly support the package in front of us today. I 
just wanted to respond both to Mr. McCaul and Mr. Chabot and 
their comments about the privilege resolution with respect to 
the evacuation of Kabul.
    You know, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the 
gander. If we're going to do that, we're going to have a 
resolution that looks at the catastrophic decisions made by the 
Trump Administration in Doha, Qatar, that led directly to the 
downfall of Afghanistan's military government and to the 
release of 5,000 prisoners, including many terrorists.
    So there will be such a resolution so that we make sure 
we're looking at the full context of what happened in 
Afghanistan, and that we hold everyone who is responsible 
accountable.
    I thank my friend for yielding.
    Ms. Jacobs. I yield.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who's the ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and 
Global Counterterrorism for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Chairman Greg Meeks and 
Ranking Member Mike McCaul, for your efforts to bring these 
bipartisan measures before the Committee today. I support House 
Resolution 569.
    On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion of improperly stored 
ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut killed over 200 
individuals and devastated nearby high density housing and 
infrastructure. I received a call about the explosion from a 
former staff member who was living in Lebanon, who thankfully 
was not home in her nearby apartment, which was devastated, at 
the time of the disaster.
    Evidence indicates that officials who were made aware of 
the improper storage posing a risk well before the explosion 
occurred. This speaks further to the corruption and negligence 
in Lebanon as the country spirals further into economic crisis. 
It is concerning that officials refuse to meet the needs of the 
Lebanese people calling for transparency, basic human rights, 
and an end to corruption.
    Sadly, the new Lebanese Government does not inspire 
confidence, especially with Hezbollah increasing dominance over 
the cabinet and State institutions, including the very vital 
Lebanese armed forces.
    On a visit to Beirut, I have been inspired by meeting so 
many dedicated patriots of the country. And in my home State of 
South Carolina, the citizens of Lebanese heritage are valued 
leaders in business, government, and community service. That's 
why the people of Lebanon deserve better.
    We should support maintaining expanding sanctions against 
the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies. The Biden 
Administration greenlighting of the Egyptian pipeline into 
Lebanon benefiting the brutal Assad regime will do nothing to 
ease the suffering of the people of Lebanon and will benefit 
Assad and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which threatens Israel 
with additional rocket attacks.
    President Biden should recognize the threat to Israel and 
America by Hezbollah, Iran, and Assad. I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Dina Titus of Nevada for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Titus. Thanks so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for 
bringing these bills. I'm a cosponsor of a number of them, and 
I support the rest.
    I want to also thank Chairwoman Bass for her leadership on 
the House Resolution 445 and thank her for allowing me to work 
with her on this, because I have a lot of constituents who are 
interested in this outcome.
    Since the Ethiopian conflict began in November 2020, 
international efforts to quell the violence really have been 
less than fruitful. And as you have heard from others this 
week, just proved and showed that the situation is worsening 
and the violence is escalating.
    This serves as a first step, but it cannot be the last, in 
confronting the brutality that's been perpetuated by all sides 
in this conflict. I strongly condemn the use of military 
strikes against civilian population centers throughout the 
country.
    And I hope that the Ethiopian Prime Minister and his allied 
Eritrean forces, along with representatives from the Tigray 
People's Liberation Front, will cease the hostilities and come 
together to meet at the negotiating table. That's the only way 
we'll get a solution, is if they're involved in coming up with 
what works best for all parties.
    Even before the start of the recent conflict, Ethiopia was 
struggling with one of Africa's largest internally displaced 
populations, and the continued violence throughout the country, 
along with COVID, have just exasperated the situation.
    So along with my colleagues on this committee, I strongly 
urge the Ethiopian Government to allow humanitarian relief into 
the country. Let it come in unencumbered. And I hope that we'll 
see that that is distributed fairly, and that we'll see an end 
to the hostilities soon.
    And I thank you very much for your time. Mr. Chairman, I 
yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Perry. Thank you very much, Chairman Meeks.
    I want to echo the remarks made by the ranking member on 
the resolution of inquiry regarding Afghanistan. I do believe 
it's an important piece of legislation.
    And given the horrific nature of our withdrawal from 
Afghanistan, a withdrawal so successful that hundreds of 
Americans are still stranded in that country as far as we know, 
and of course, billions of dollars in premier military 
equipment left to what is now a terrorist superState, 
congressional oversight is absolutely the first thing that is 
need.
    It's absolutely beyond me how there's been nobody in the 
Biden Administration that's been held accountable for this. And 
while my good friend from Virginia would like to change history 
as he always does, we're not going to let him.
    We're not going to let anybody just disregard the fact that 
the Commander in Chief at the time of this occurrence was Joe 
Biden, not Donald Trump. And Joe Biden had every ability and 
authority to do whatever he wanted to do regarding that 
withdrawal, and every failure is one that he owns.
    According to the Lugar Center, the House Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, our committee, has a projected grade of an F 
for oversight. I do not think anybody's proud of that, but I do 
think it's a result of zero (inaudible) something the American 
people should know about.
    This committee ranks among the lowest of the low for House 
committees in relation to its oversight responsibilities. This 
committee is simply not interested in oversight, and the lack 
of hearings on Afghanistan in recent weeks has only indicated a 
dug-in approach to defend this Administration's failure at any 
cost.
    I urge my colleagues on this committee to stop their 
intransigence and focus on obtaining as much information on the 
botched withdrawal of Afghanistan. Our veterans deserve answers 
and accountability, and so do the American people.
    In the remaining time, as some of my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle refuse to bring up legislation that 
will effectively counter the existential threat that the 
People's Republic of China poses to our country, I wish to 
bring up two pieces of legislation that will effectively keep 
the PRC in check.
    The first is H.R. 5431, the designated the CCP as a 
transnational organized crime group. Chinese Communist Party is 
an aggressive criminal organization, and while it's taken far 
too long, Americans are finally clearly seeing the threat posed 
by the CCP to the health, security, and prosperity of the 
United States.
    The Community Party of China continues to be heavily 
involved in drug trafficking, including fentanyl trafficking. 
They continue to commit an ongoing, grotesque genocide of their 
very own people, and they continue to lie about the origins of 
the coronavirus and obstruct international efforts to learn 
more about that.
    The CCP steals up to 600 billion annually in intellectual 
property. Theft from the United States alone, forced technology 
transfer accounts for anywhere between 180 billion to 540 
billion in lost revenue to our national economy.
    On top of all this, they regularly engage in espionage 
activities. Last year, we arrested two Chinese military agents 
at the Houston consulate for attempted theft of coronavirus 
vaccine research. The State Department has since confirmed that 
the Chinese consulates in more that two dozen US cities are 
helping Community Party soldiers posing as students spy on our 
colleagues. We're asleep at the switch here.
    My legislation would apply the RICO Act to the CCP and 
designate them for the top international criminal organization 
target, or TICOT, list. It is beyond time we've held the CCP 
accountable for who they are. They are a transnational 
organized crime organization.
    The second bill I wish to discuss today likely has a much 
better chance of bipartisan consensus, and that is the Taiwan 
Plus Act. This bill would provide Taiwan with temporary NATO 
plus status alongside some of our Nation's greatest allies and 
would foster a strong deterrence posture against an evil CCP 
regime that has made every indication of their intentions to 
violate Taiwan's sovereignty.
    My hope is that this measured bill will earn bipartisan 
support. The United States of America will always stand 
shoulder to shoulder with our friends in Taiwan. With that, I 
look forward to debating the legislation before us in this 
markup, and I yield back the balance.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back the balance. I 
will now recognize Representative Kathy Manning of North 
Carolina, the Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle 
East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism. But let me ask 
Ms. Manning whether she would yield 10 seconds to me.
    Ms. Manning. Of course.
    Chairman Meeks. Yes, I just wanted to respond to Mr. Perry. 
Mr. Perry, I have in front of my the 117th HFAC Afghan 
engagements. I'm sure to give them to you, but there's 43 
occasions of such meetings that we've held in this hearing 
oversighting Afghanistan.
    I yield back to Ms. Manning.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you, Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member 
McCaul, for your leadership and for the Committee's excellent 
work on all these important measures.
    I am proud to join my colleagues as an original cosponsor 
of H.R. 5497, the Burma Unified through Rigorous Military 
Accountability, or BURMA, Act, bipartisan legislation 
introduced by Chairman Meeks and Congressman Chabot.
    This legislation imposes targeted sanctions on military 
officials responsible for the February 2021 coup, which deposed 
Burma's democratically elected government. Within days, the 
world witnessed thousands of citizens pouring out on the 
streets in protest, calling for an end to military rule and the 
release of elected leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
    They were met with a brutal, violent crackdown. Since 
February, security forces have killed more than 1100 people and 
arrested more than 9,000. Many of the junta forces are the same 
ones responsible for the campaign against the Rohingya Muslims.
    Since August 2017, more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have 
fled Burma's Rakhine State to escape the military's large scale 
assault, with many fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh to escape 
killings, arson, and other mass atrocities.
    Under Burmese law, the Rohingya are denied citizenship and 
have faced decades of oppression and discrimination. Roughly 
600,000 Rohingya Muslims remain in Burma facing dire and 
worsening humanitarian conditions.
    This bill will impose targeted sanctions on the Burmese 
military, the State administrative council, and affiliates 
responsible for the coup and the ongoing crackdown in Burma. It 
will establish a U.S. special coordinator for Burmese democracy 
to make sure the United States remains at the forefront of 
helping to promote human rights and restore civilian government 
in Burma. And it will require State to make a determination 
about the genocide against the Rohingya.
    Additionally, the bill calls for the immediate and 
unconditional release of Danny Fenster, an American journalist 
from my hometown of Detroit, who is represented by our 
colleague, Congressman Andy Levin, and who has been unjustly 
detained since May, as well as all other journalists unjustly 
detained. We continue to hope that Danny will be able to come 
home soon.
    Mr. Chairman, this bipartisan bill will crack down on those 
who threaten democracy and human rights in Burma. This is an 
important, comprehensive bill to hold accountable those 
responsible for gross violations of human rights, freedom of 
assembly, and freedom of the press. And I look forward to 
seeing it become law.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Darrell Issa of California for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Issa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I won't use the 
whole 5 minutes. I want to thank you and Representative Bass 
and Jacobs and the team and, of course, the ranking member and 
his team for this thoughtful en bloc package.
    Included in it is H.Res 569, and I want to thank you and 
all the members of the committee and the committee staff for 
working on such a bipartisan basis to refine a resolution that 
deals with describing a country on the brink of being a failed 
State. One in which the United States has made many years of 
peaceful investment in the Lebanese Armed Forces and other 
institutions.
    Unlike Afghanistan and other nations, Lebanon will not fall 
from without. If it falls, it will fall from within. It will 
fall because we failed to fight corruption. We failed to 
support the law enforcement capabilities and the stabilizing 
capabilities of the LAF. Additionally, we have made commitments 
to that country to help them as they continue to battle foreign 
influence including the influence from Iran.
    And, Mr. Chairman, as a member of what is often called the 
diaspora of Lebanon, I take special pride that Lebanon has been 
a successful melting pot for many years, but in the last few 
weeks, we have seen the beginning of sectarian violence, the 
beginning of the breakdown. So now more than ever, this 
resolution and the continued support by the United State to the 
institutions that can curb or head off another terrible civil 
war has never been more important.
    And I know that for all the members of the committee on 
both sides of the aisle recognizing that as Iran continues to 
put its thumb on one side of the scale in the Palestinian 
territories, particularly Gaza, put one side on the scale in 
Lebanon, put one side on the scale in Syria, now more than ever 
it is important that this committee say America will put its 
thumb on the other side of the scale to provide justice for a 
people who want peace in the region.
    And again, I will be supporting the entire en bloc, but I 
want to thank both you, Chairman and Ranking Member McCaul for 
your support and leadership and I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Jim Costa of California for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Costa. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I hope you 
can hear me clearly. I want to thank you and the committee for 
this hearing. I support all of these pieces of legislation. I 
think it is important as you have said repeatedly that the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee assert itself on issues and 
challenges facing our country around the world in these 
resolutions. (inaudible) on record, but obviously there are 
more that we have to do and to the degree we can do it on a 
bipartisan basis, we are all, I think, much better off to find 
or return to a point someday where a lot of our politics end at 
waters' edge.
    I think the Resolution 445 condemning the violence and 
human rights abuses in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the combatants 
and the conflicts in Northern Ethiopia, it is a tragedy what 
has taken place there, and respect for human rights and 
unfettered access to allow the United Nations and others to 
perform humanitarian access and cooperate, and also to 
investigate the independent efforts to the incredible 
atrocities that we have heard that have taken place. So I think 
this resolution is certainly in the right direction.
    In addition to that also within the continent of Africa, 
the situation in Mozambique, I think, concerns many of us who 
are familiar with the situation. The necessity for stability 
and cessation of violence is in the Cabo Delgado Province is 
important to recognize, and I want to thank the authors for 
this effort and in keeping in our efforts to maintain a 
spotlight and attention on that effort.
    And I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for 
their efforts on trying to put this together in a bipartisan 
effort and, clearly, we have a lot to do. This Havana Syndrome, 
I think, concerns all of us. American diplomats are where the 
rubber meets the road around the world to represent our Nation 
and to do so in a way that allows us to allow the rest of the 
world that we are engaged in all of these efforts within their 
countries.
    When our diplomats are being singularly singled out in ways 
in which their health is compromised or their efforts being 
attacked, we have got to get to the bottom of this. And, 
clearly, I think it behooves all of us to join together in 
supporting those Americans who have committed their careers and 
their livelihoods representing our country around the world.
    So with that said, as I have indicated I support these 
measures and I look forward to continuing to work with the 
committee on our efforts to ensure that the United States of 
America lets the rest of the world know that our willingness to 
provide leadership is consistent and hopefully bipartisan. I 
yield back the balance of my time and I thank you very much.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Brian Mast of Florida for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Mast. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the effort 
by the chairman, ranking member, and staff to put together this 
en bloc package. For several important reasons though I must 
oppose the en bloc package. The two reasons are, one, having to 
do with the Burma Act and, No. 2, having to do with the failure 
to include the ROI into this en bloc package.
    And I want to start with the Burma Act and something that I 
believe we need to address moving forward as a committee in 
many different places. If you look at our ability to get 
dollars sent to domestic projects here, most of us would kill 
to be able to get projects funded in our communities, 
domestically, for three, four, five, six, 7 years on end, to be 
able to have tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars 
go to projects like that.
    But we cannot get that done domestically here, but 
internationally in the Burma Act, in what has been described 
just in the last few minutes as a worsening situation and a 
country on the brink of failure, we are going to, No. 1, give 
away our negotiating leverage by authorizing appropriations to 
them for half a decade.
    In the shadow of having just raised our Nation's debt 
limit, we are going to do that. And then you look beyond that 
and to say why would we give a nation on the brink of failure 
millions and millions and millions of dollars year after year 
without evaluating that each year, and I think it would be a 
fair ask for anything we do that goes to international 
appropriations that we look at that year over year. That would 
be not being asleep at the wheel, not putting on auto pilot the 
same thing that we do domestically with spending.
    So that is one of the reasons that I have to oppose this en 
bloc package. We cannot allow spending like that to be on auto 
pilot even amid the devastating situation of what is going on 
within Burma. As it relates to the ROI--and I am always happy 
to yield to people as folks know in this committee if somebody 
in here disagrees with making sure that we ensure all documents 
or all records, communications, correspondence, emails, text 
messages, instant messages, transcripts, summaries, agendas, 
notes, diplomatic cables, reports, meeting read-outs--any 
member of this committee would like to speak against retaining 
those items as it relates to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, I 
got 2 minutes here that I am happy to yield to somebody if they 
want to say we shouldn't be retaining those items.
    It is a fair demand from this committee, Mr. Chairman. You 
mentioned in the opening of your remarks that oversight is at 
the heart of this committee. If it is at the heart of this 
committee, then put it at the heart of this committee and let's 
make sure that we retain those documents for bipartisan 
purposes.
    I have aired my grievances on the en bloc package, but 
since I have a minute-thirty remaining, I will sit here and 
wait and see if anybody has a problem with retaining all 
documents, records, communications, correspondence, emails, 
transcripts, texts and instant messages, summaries of agendas, 
notes, diplomatic cables, meeting read-outs, other things as it 
relates to what happened with the disastrous Afghanistan 
hostage crisis, Afghanistan withdrawal leaving Americans 
behind, green cardholders behind, those that aided us for the 
last couple decades behind.
    [Moment of silence.]
    Mr. Mast. Mr. Chairman, having sat here for a little bit, I 
see that nobody seems to have an objection to that. I can 
commit for myself that I would certainly be willing to stay for 
as long as it takes to include the ROI into our en bloc package 
or whatever we would need to do to continue to get that marked 
up as it is urgent and should be done probably weeks ago, but 
not done yet to this point. I am certainly happy to commit to 
staying if you want to get that done yet today. I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman's time has expired. I now 
recognize Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member 
McCaul, for holding this markup as we consider key legislation 
across the spectrum of foreign policy challenges facing the 
United States and its partners around the globe. Once again, 
the members of this committee have the opportunity to come 
together to support human rights, the rule of law, and 
democracy in regions around the world.
    In particular, Mr. Chairman, we can join together to 
support your legislation, H.R. 5497, the Burma Act of 2021, so 
that we may rightly punish those who have overthrown the will 
of the Burmese people, and so we may empower our diplomats with 
the tools they need to build international support for 
objecting the legitimacy of the Tatmadaw coup.
    Since the Tatmadaw overthrew the democratic election of the 
National Unity Government in February, 1,100 Burmese citizens 
have been killed, many of them from the Karen and Rohingya 
peoples that have been targeted because of their religious 
beliefs. Those resisting to Tatmadaw and protesting on behalf 
of democratic values and pluralism have faced a violent 
crackdown that threatens lives and the long-term prospect of 
human rights and the rule of law in Myanmar.
    The Burma Act of 2021 would create sanction regime against 
the Tatmadaw, the State Administration Council, and other 
responsible parties that represent a strong, proportionate 
response to their deliberate sabotaging of Burmese democracy. 
It would also create a badly needed office within the State 
Department that will be tasked with building international 
support for broader sanctions. The situation at hand requires 
an international coalition unabashedly opposed to strong U.S. 
leadership can help build that coalition.
    The Tatmadaw may have wrestled control of the Burmese 
Government away from the people of Myanmar, they may have 
jailed and killed many that oppose their rule, and while they 
continue to trample on the will of the Burmese people, 
resistance strengthens with each passing day. As they continue 
their reign of terror, the Tatmadaw inadvertently helps build 
bridges across the diverse peoples of Myanmar, creating a 
hardened opposition that rejects their illegitimate rule.
    I saw firsthand the strength of the Burmese people when I 
traveled to Burma and Bangladesh in November 2017. There we 
bore witness to the discrimination, segregation, and horrific 
violence being committed against the Rohingya community, 
particularly as we heard firsthand accounts of the savage 
treatment and brutality that was visited upon the Rohingya 
community. And today as we bear witness to the Tatmadaw's 
cruelty we must act, and so I urge my colleagues to join me in 
enthusiastically supporting H.R. 5497 and the other bills in 
the en bloc package.
    I would also like to spend a moment to speak in support of 
my colleague Congresswoman Jacobs' resolution, H.Res. 720 
calling for stability and cessation of violence in Mozambique. 
I am proud to cosponsor this bill which calls on the Government 
of Mozambique to end the violence created by ISIS-Mozambique 
and provide humanitarian support to those who need it and I 
thank my colleague for her strong leadership on that piece of 
legislation.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I will now recognize 
Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is always a 
pleasure seeing you. I would really like to stress my support 
for Ranking Member McCaul's H.Res. 701, the Afghanistan 
Resolution of Inquiry, and I would like to echo his sentiments. 
We need to get to the bottom of what happened with the collapse 
of the Afghan Republic and the catastrophically botched 
withdrawal from that country.
    We need answers and those (inaudible) that my Democratic 
friends on the Rules Committee have continued to extend the 
prohibition on resolutions of inquiry becoming privileged 
resolutions. This is just another example, in my opinion, of 
slimy, hypocritical D.C. politics, as there are 18 of these 
resolutions submitted during the first 2 years of the Trump 
Administration when the Democrats were in the minority.
    These resolutions have been a very narrowed and tailored 
oversight mechanism for 200 years, and I cannot think of any 
other current issue more important than Afghanistan which 
warrants thorough congressional oversight. We as elected 
Members of Congress should be demanding answers from this 
Administration.
    I attended the funeral of Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss at 
Arlington a few weeks back, his people are neighbors of mine, 
his parents and grandparents, and he was one of 6,000 soldiers 
surged into the country to clean up the mess that the Biden 
Administration created. He was also a constituent and one of 13 
brave Americans killed during the coordinated attack where 
ISIS-K bomber detonated his vest outside the Hamid Karzai 
International Airport in August. It was reported that the 
bomber was released from prison during the Taliban takeover.
    This resolution seeks all materials relating to important 
questions myself and many other Members of Congress had but 
most importantly, to me, the resolution seeks all materials 
relating to the release of violent extremists from prisons in 
Afghanistan. I want to know what happened and possibly figure 
out why these prisoners were not secured and transferred to 
another location. We owe it to the family members of our slain 
soldiers.
    I am proud to support Mr. McCaul's resolution and I urge 
this committee to take up this important resolution. Thank you, 
Mr. Chairman. I yield the remainder of my time, sir, and I 
always appreciate your courtesy and friendship.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman's time--the gentleman yields back 
his time. I now recognize Representative Tim Meijer of Michigan 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Meijer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 
McCaul, for holding this markup today. As we consider the 
measures today, there remains one top issue of mine for myself 
and many of my colleagues, as it has been previously stated, 
and that is the Afghanistan withdrawal and the future of those 
who were able to evacuate as well as those who were left 
behind. The Biden Administration's withdrawal was an 
unmitigated disaster and too many questions remain unanswered.
    Since April, a bipartisan group of representatives, myself 
included, have been imploring this Administration to outline 
their plan to get Special Immigrant Visa-eligible individuals 
out and to clear the backlog of applicants who had served 
alongside our forces throughout the mission in Afghanistan. In 
June, as the withdrawal deadline approached, we called for the 
immediate evacuation of these Afghan allies and their families, 
again while there was still time.
    But our calls were ignored until it was too late and in 
August, the world watched in horror as the devastating 
consequences of this Administration's inaction unfolded. We 
have seen very little transparency or accountability from this 
Administration. House Democratic leadership has helped shield 
the Administration from responsibility by restricting 
Republicans' ability to submit resolutions of inquiry, a 
privileged oversight mechanism that has been in use for over 
200 years by the minority party to obtain information from the 
executive branch. Oversight of the executive branch is 
Congress's fundamental constitutional prerogative.
    We are demanding answers from the Biden Administration on 
how the withdrawal went so catastrophically wrong so that we 
can hold those responsible to account and to prevent a similar 
disaster from ever happening again. I echo the ranking member's 
call to bring a resolution of inquiry for documents related to 
the withdrawal up for a vote and urge this committee not to 
ignore our oversight duties related to Afghanistan.
    On a separate note, I am pleased to see that the Burma Act 
is included in this en bloc. As the representative of a 
district with a significant Burmese population, I hear 
frequently about the concerns of my constituents for their 
family members who are currently suffering at the hands of the 
Tatmadaw. This bill will impose serious costs on the military 
regime which continues to commit grave violations of human 
rights including the unjust detention of American citizens.
    The Burma Act will not only prevent the Tatmadaw from 
accessing assets that are currently supporting its rule, but 
also send a strong message of support to the Burmese people 
that we stand with them in their desire for democracy and human 
rights. With that, Mr. Chairman, I encourage a yes vote and I 
yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Young Kim of California, who is the vice ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, 
and Nonproliferation, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Kim of California. Thank you, Chairman Meeks and 
Ranking Member McCaul. I stand in support of the en bloc being 
offered today, including Congresswoman Jacobs' resolution on 
Mozambique which I am proud to co-lead.
    The accounts coming out of Cabo Delgado of violent 
extremists targeting civilians with brutal beheadings, 
abductions, recruiting child soldiers, and mass killings 
seriously endangered the stability of Mozambique and the 
surrounding region. So I join Congresswoman Jacobs in asking 
this committee to pass this important measure today in 
condemning the violence by ISIS-Mozambique and urging the 
government there to work with its regional and civil society 
partners to restore stability and security while ensuring 
strong protections for human rights and humanitarian aid 
distribution.
    The measures before this committee are worthy of speedy 
passage today and I am proud to cosponsor many of them, 
including Congressman LaHood's important resolution on the Port 
of Beirut explosion and Ranking Member McCaul's critical 
legislation to develop a robust United States response to the 
Havana Syndrome attacks directed at our diplomatic and 
intelligence personnel. I am also proud to cosponsor 
Congresswoman Bass' Resolution on the conflict in Ethiopia 
which has claimed so many lives and subjected hundreds of 
thousands to famine and increasingly unsafe conditions.
    Congress must act now in pressing the Biden Administration 
to act with more immediacy and transparency to halt the 
bloodshed in Northern Ethiopia and continue urging all 
combatants to cease hostilities, respect human rights, and 
allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid workers. I also 
call on all sides of this conflict to fully cooperate with 
independent investigations of credible atrocity allegations and 
for the Biden Administration to respond to Congress immediately 
on its progress toward a determination of war crimes, crimes 
against humanity, or genocide.
    Finally, I am glad to be a regional cosponsor on the Burma 
Act and I thank Chairman Meeks and Congressman Chabot for their 
leadership on this important initiative to hold a military 
junta of Myanmar accountable for overthrowing their 
democratically elected government. Included in the bill is $220 
million in assistance for the Rohingya refugee population that 
continues to experience substandard conditions and violence, as 
well as a requirement for the Biden Administration to determine 
whether the Burmese military's atrocities against the Rohingya 
constitute genocide. I am proud to support this measure and 
ensure our country continues to stand strong as a leader in 
supporting democratic rule of law and human rights around the 
world.
    Thank you and I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. Any other members 
wish to be recognized?
    Hearing no further requests of recognition, the committee 
will proceed to consider the notice of items en bloc. Pursuant 
to the previous order, the question occurs on the measures en 
bloc, as amended, if amended. We are going to take a vote by 
voice, and all members please unmute your microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Measures 
considered en bloc are agreed to and, without objection, the 
motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
    Pursuant to the previous order of the committee, each 
measure is ordered favorably reported, as amended, if amended, 
and each amendment or amendments to each bill shall be reported 
as a single amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without 
objection, staff is authorized to make and technical and 
conforming changes.
    Now on to the next item of business. We will be considering 
separately, the following measure, H.R. 4914, the Havana 
Syndrome Attacks Response Act.
    [The Bill H.R. 4914 follows:]

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Mr. Meeks. Pursuant to notice for purposes of markup, I now 
call up H.R. 4914. The Clerk will report the bill.
    The Clerk. H.R. 4914. To impose sanctions against foreign 
persons and foreign governments----
    Mr. Meeks. Without objection, the first reading of the bill 
is dispensed with and, without objection, the bill shall be 
considered as read and open to amendment at any point. And, 
without objection, the McCaul amendment in the nature of a 
substitute number 42, circulated to members, shall be 
considered as read and will be treated as original text for 
purposes of amendment.
    At this time, I recognize myself to speak on this measure. 
In 2016, reports first emerged of anomalous health incidents 
among U.S. personnel overseas characterized by a concerning 
array of traumatic brain injury symptoms, now colloquially 
referred to as Havana Syndrome. Experts, convened by the State 
Department in 2017, attributed these symptoms to a non-natural 
source, and the National Academy of Sciences, in 2020, 
described them as plausible, the result of directed pulsed 
radio frequency energy.
    Since then, these bizarre events have increased in 
frequency and scope, with recent press reports estimating 
roughly 200 such suspected attacks against U.S. personnel in 
multiple locations around the world. Investigations to the 
nature and cause of these anomalous health incidents continues 
and President Biden has committed to bring to bear the full 
resources of the Federal Government to get to the bottom of 
them. In that effort, he has the full support and partnership 
of this committee.
    But before I go on, let me speak directly to our diplomats 
and their families who have reported being impacted by 
suspected attacks of anomalous incidents. We believe you. We 
lament the harm it has caused to your health, well-being, and 
careers and will not let this threat to you and your colleagues 
persist unchallenged.
    The ranking member's amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to H.R. 4914 would make clear that it is the policy 
of the United States to deter any suspected attacks of this 
sort, provide assistance to those affected, prioritize research 
into measures to protect our personnel, and hold accountable 
anyone responsible for them.
    The ANS to the bill would permissibly authorize sanctions 
against any foreign persons or governments the President 
determined responsible for any such attacks against U.S. 
personnel resulting in brain injury, mandate reports to 
Congress on the nature of and response to any such clandestine 
attacks or anomalous health incidents, and express the sense of 
Congress that the executive branch should prioritize 
coordination to investigate and deter suspected attacks or 
anomalous health incidents.
    Many of you know I am of the mind that sanctions are a 
powerful foreign tool that should only be deployed carefully, 
so there is a red line for me that these authorities be 
permissive and that the executive branch be afforded the 
flexibility it needs to respond to a still-evolving situation. 
But it is squarely in the jurisdiction of this committee to be 
debating and authorizing the appropriate use of foreign 
(inaudible) ranking member's ANS today.
    It is reasonable to have permissive sanction tools ready 
for consideration when we are dealing with what many 
increasingly worry could prove to be detrimental physical 
attacks against our very own people. I am pleased that this 
Congress previously passed a Havana Act, recently signed into 
law, authorizing additional financial support for individuals 
harmed by anomalous health incidents. This committee must also 
now be willing to have the hard conversations about diplomatic 
engagement and foreign policy responses needed to stop such 
harm. As such, I appreciate the ranking member's willingness to 
offer the ANS and I support this measure.
    Are there any other members who wish to speak on the 
measure? I yield back the balance of my time.
    Mr. McCaul. Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Meeks. I recognize the ranking member.
    Mr. McCaul. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for working 
with me on this important bill. You know, around the world, 
American personnel are being attacked in their homes and hotels 
and even on public streets. What first started in Havana in 
late 2016 has now expanded to attacks all around the world, 
including right here in Washington, DC.
    There are hundreds of victims, including children, and 
recent cases have been reported in Vietnam, Vienna, Berlin, and 
Bogota. We must find out who is behind these attacks and hold 
them responsible and we must reassure the people who serve our 
Nation overseas that we have their backs.
    To help deter future harm, Congress needs to call these 
incidents what they are--attacks. And that is what this measure 
does. We need to ensure that there will be consequences for 
those who are responsible and that is why I introduced the 
Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act.
    My bill we are considering here today, with the Chairman's 
support, will do just that by authorizing broad sanctions 
against those who are attacking Americans. It establishes a 
policy to prevent, punish, and deter these attacks and it 
requires greater transparency with Congress about what is 
happening and, most importantly, what the United States is 
doing in response.
    I worked with the chairman and his staff for 2 months to 
get this legislation to a place where we could get it marked up 
and passed out of committee on a bipartisan basis and I am 
pleased that we were able to come to an agreement on this 
critical issue. And that is why I will be opposing amendments 
from either side of the aisle that would upset this agreement 
that we have made, Mr. Chairman. Changing this bipartisan bill 
will jeopardize its passage in its current form and it could 
weaken it. Americans are being attacked and they expect us to 
work together to help them.
    So again, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for 
considering this bill today. It is an important measure and 
with that I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The ranking member yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Sarah Jacobs of California for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Jacobs. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. And, first, I want 
to thank the ranking member, Mr. McCaul, for all of your work 
and efforts to ensure that this pressing issue gets due 
attention. And while I appreciate and agree with my colleague's 
concern about the health and well-being of our diplomats 
overseas, I have to say I disagree with this bill.
    It is clear our Foreign Service officers have suffered from 
distressing neurological symptoms and widespread fear and we 
need to get to the bottom of what happened here and continue 
with robust investigations; however, I do think the sanctions 
authorized by this bill are premature and possibly not the 
right tools to begin with. By perspectively authorizing the 
President to impose sanctions against an unspecified entity for 
reasons we have not been able to fully determine yet, we are 
tying our hands on properly assessing what would be the 
appropriate and effective response once we are actually able to 
review the details.
    As we are still dealing with the consequences of the 2001 
AUMF that was overly broad, we have to make sure we do not make 
the same mistake. We are not able to assess the anticipated 
economic and political implications of sanctions if we do not 
know who they are targeted against. We cannot ensure this is 
the right tool when we do not have all the facts and we cannot 
pair these sanctions with a clear and effective strategy when 
we do not know what the threat or potential threat actually is.
    We need to ensure we are seriously investigating the cause 
of so much suffering of our diplomats, but this bill is not the 
answer and, more importantly--sets a bad (inaudible) and for 
these reasons I oppose and urge my colleagues to do the same. I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey for 5 minutes.
    Not hearing Mr. Smith, I now recognize Representative Joe 
Wilson of South Carolina for 5 minutes.
    Not hearing from Mr. Wilson, I now recognize Representative 
Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who is the vice chair of the 
Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber, for 
5 minutes.
    Ms. Spanberger. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want 
to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their work in 
bringing this bill forward for markup. Addressing the Havana 
Syndrome attacks deserve the highest level of urgency of 
Congress and of our government. It is absolutely critical that 
the U.S. Government provide care of affected personnel, 
investigate what is going on, and deter and prevent future 
attacks.
    I know that public servants, people who have dedicated 
their careers to serving and protecting our Nation, are facing 
the persistent threat of these ongoing attacks and I know 
people who have been impacted who have experienced these 
attacks and now face debilitating consequences, a complete 
change in their lives, and inability to continue in the pursuit 
of their professional career and we must do everything that we 
can do to provide them with the assistance they need and 
prevent more people, public servants, from experiencing what 
they have gone through.
    I have had the pleasure of working with the chairman and 
the ranking member on this issue before and I am so grateful 
that we are continuing these efforts today with Representative 
McCaul's legislation, the Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act. 
I thank the ranking member for working with the chair to make 
important refining edits to this bill and I am proud to support 
it.
    I appreciate that this bill makes it clear that Congress is 
ready to provide the tools necessary to address these suspected 
attacks with the highest level of concern and urgency, and I 
appreciate and I was glad to have and I appreciated that Chair 
Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul joined my amendment that was 
included in the House-passed NDAA focused on bolstering the 
interagency response to these suspected attacks.
    Enacting my legislation would help structure and prioritize 
a robust, whole of government response to Havana Syndrome 
attacks and the bill we are considering today builds off the 
steps that Congress has already taken. However, we must keep 
our legislative and oversight efforts going to ensure that the 
response of the U.S. Government is well-coordinated, effective, 
and strong. Anything less would be a dereliction of our duty to 
protect our Nation and our selfless public servants as they go 
about the business of protecting us.
    I appreciate Ranking Member McCaul's legislative efforts 
and the chair's commitment on this issue. I look forward to 
continuing to work closely with this committee, of the Members 
of Congress in the House and Senate, and the Administration to 
get right at the heart of this critical issue. Thank you very 
much, Mr. Chairman. I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on 
this bill and I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Wagner of Missouri for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Wagner. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I appreciate 
your willingness to work with the ranking member and all of us 
to advance H.R. 4914, the Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act, 
which I am proud to cosponsor.
    The underlying legislation holds Castro's brutal Communist 
regime accountable for directly attacking U.S. citizens. As 
many as 200 Americans, primarily individuals serving their 
country as part of the State Department, Department of Defense, 
and intelligence community has suffered traumatic brain 
injuries while stationed in Cuba. Recently, scientific analysis 
has revealed that the attacks were most likely the result of 
``directed pulsed radio frequency energy.''
    This bill punishes the attackers by authorizing the 
President to sanction those determined to be responsible. It 
will protect Americans by deterring future attacks. There must 
be, Mr. Chairman, serious, unambiguous consequences for 
attacking U.S. citizens. It is both reasonable and prudent for 
the United States to sanction the individuals responsible for 
the Havana attacks. Furthermore, it would deter any President 
from imposing sanctions, and I want to make sure that the tools 
are available to both the legislative and executive branch 
moving forward. I urge my colleagues to vote yes and to support 
the Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act and I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Andy Levin of Michigan for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I support most 
of the measures that came before us today, and I am grateful to 
you and the ranking member for your work on them, especially 
the situations in Burma and in Tigray, and thank Chairwoman 
Bass of the Subcommittee on Africa for all that great work.
    But I do want to express my concerns about this one 
measure, H.R. 4914. You know, I share all of my colleagues' 
alarm regarding the illnesses that have impacted U.S. personnel 
both at home and abroad and I thank the ranking member for his 
attention to this really very, very serious matter. We 
absolutely need to protect the hardworking individuals serving 
our country and I want us to get to the bottom of these 
incidents as soon as possible and do whatever is necessary to 
make sure they do not continue to occur. That being said, this 
is really a matter of how to make policy. I worry that there is 
still too many unknowns for us to prepare a thoughtful, 
effective policy response to these incidents and to craft a 
successful deterrent if they are, indeed, found to be attacks.
    In service to the Americans who serve us in this way around 
the world and in interest of responsible policymaking, I feel 
that we ought to have more questions answered before we advance 
this legislation and I fully support devoting whatever 
resources are necessary to getting those answers ASAP. Thanks, 
Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina for 5 minutes.
    I understand Mr. Wilson has some audio problems. We will 
come back to him.
    Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Meeks. There you go. Mr. Wilson.
    Mr. Wilson. All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 
And I am grateful to support H.Res 4914, the Havana Syndrome 
Attacks Response Act, which has been drafted and introduced by 
Ranking Member Mike McCaul.
    The safety and security of American diplomats and 
Department of Defense personnel is critical to the success of 
our missions around the world, to the (inaudible) around the 
world. This is outrageous. This bill underscores the commitment 
of Congress to assist victims, research the counter measures 
and, most importantly, to identify and hold responsible the 
parties accountable. Thank you to Mr. Chairman Meeks and thank 
you to Ranking Member Mike McCaul and I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairman. And thank you to the 
ranking member for working on what is a very important issue 
that all of us are greatly concerned about.
    I have had the opportunity to sit on the House Intelligence 
Committee now since 2016, and for 2 years at least we have been 
dealing with this issue. And so I know that, you know, I have 
had a chance to work with Ranking Member McCaul on different 
legislation, on cyber and other pieces of legislation, and I 
know that this is a sincere piece of legislation.
    But I am concerned because, you know, I have concerns about 
prescribing the consequences before we have confirmed the 
culprits here, and so I feel that this is a bit premature. I 
know that all of us want to be able to hold these folks 
accountable, the nations accountable, or whoever it may be that 
is responsible for harming our diplomats, but I also think that 
once we have all of the information in front of us, we will be 
in a better position to do that. With that I yield back, 
Chairman.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back.
    Votes have been called on the House floor, so therefore 
this committee will go into recess until after the votes are 
completed on the House floor. We will resume immediately 
thereafter. The committee is now in recess.
    [Whereupon, at 3:42 p.m., the committee recessed, to 
reconvene at 4:15 p.m., the same day.]
    Mr. Meeks. The committee will come to order. Do any other 
members wish to speak on the measure?
    Hearing no further requests, let's move on to amendments.
    For what purpose does the Representative from Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Perry, seek recognition?
    Mr. Perry. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
    [The amendment offered by Mr. Perry follows:]

    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T5851.190
    
    Mr. Meeks. The Clerk shall distribute the amendment to your 
staff, virtually, and here in the hearing room.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, which number amendment is the 
gentleman offering?
    Mr. Perry. I have 366 and 367, I believe, so we could do 
them in order.
    Mr. Meeks. Let's do 366.
    The Clerk. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to H.R. 4914.
    Mr. Meeks. Everyone receive a copy of the amendment?
    The Clerk will please report the amendment.
    The Clerk. Perry Amendment Number 366 to the amendment in 
the nature of a substitute to H.R. 4914. Page 11----
    Mr. Meeks. Without objection, further reading of the 
amendment will be dispensed with, a point of order reserved, 
the Representative from Pennsylvania is recognized for 5 
minutes in support of the amendment.
    Mr. Perry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The current language 
within the ANS of this bill is weak. A foreign government 
sanctioned under this bill can have those same sanctions 
removed by the President if that country promises not to 
conduct clandestine attacks on U.S. personnel. The absurdity of 
that is simply breathtaking, as if we are supposed to take 
Putin's or Xi's word for it that they will stop attacking our 
personnel. I mean they shouldn't be attacking them in the first 
place.
    The second precondition isn't much better. It places the 
burden of proof on the executive branch and says if the 
President doesn't have persuasive information that an attack 
resulting in brain injury to the U.S. personnel over the last 6 
months, that is grounds for vacating the sanctions described in 
the bill. The sanctions are time-tested IEEPA sanctions 
including the blocking of property and assets and revocation of 
visas. Not a single person here wouldn't be in favor of 
applying those sanctions against a perpetrator of these 
attacks, I would hope.
    I am firmly opposed to creating such an easy litmus test 
for removing these sanctions. It gives offending countries an 
opportunity to use these attacks as leverage to extract 
concessions from the United States at certain points, only to 
turn around and apologize to have the sanctions removed. 
Sanctions once implemented should require an enormous about-
face in the way the offending country interacts with the United 
States.
    American personnel stationed around the world to include 
our Foreign Service officers and CIA deserve our full backing 
and support against those who wish to do them harm. Creating 
such an easy litmus test for the removal of sanctions is an 
insult to those who have been attacked and who have endured 
horrific brain trauma. This amendment would make it clear that 
one sanction of a foreign government may not see its sanctions 
removed absent an act of Congress.
    This amendment would make it clear to the rest of the world 
that we will not tolerate any kind of attacks on our personnel 
and it would also serve as a useful deterrent against future 
attacks or, if you are so inclined, against anomalous health 
incidents. A truly tragic aspect of all this is that we have 
the policy tools to mitigate the frequency of these attacks 
while we determine which foreign adversary is behind them. One 
of those tools is deterrence and its applicability here is both 
obvious and useful.
    In a circumstance in which we are confronting an adversary 
with advanced technological capabilities, the tightening of the 
removal of sanctions provisions would still make them think 
twice about attacking our citizens. The current provision on 
the removal of sanctions will also be ready--correction--read 
by foreign adversaries as a total lack of commitment to those 
who dedicate their lives to the security of our Nation.
    This has a broader implication that several of my 
colleagues apparently do not fully appreciate. If we are unable 
or, worse, unwilling to aggressively target those inflicting 
debilitating harm on our citizens that has implications for 
everyone who commits themselves to the defense and preservation 
of our republic and that is unacceptable. To me, this is a 
pretty common-sense provision and to reject it would be to 
embrace weakness. I urge my colleagues to accept this amendment 
and I yield back the balance.
    Mr. Connolly. Would my friend yield for a question, Mr. 
Perry?
    Mr. Meeks. Mr. Perry said he has yielded back the balance 
of his time.
    Mr. Connolly. Mr. Chairman, I seek recognition for a 
question.
    Mr. Meeks. I did not hear you, Mr. Connolly.
    The gentleman yielded back the balance of his time. He has 
no more time. I now recognize myself. I oppose this amendment.
    Mr. Connolly. I know. I am seeking----
    Mr. Meeks. I cannot hear you, Mr. Connolly.
    I do not hear you, Mr. Connolly.
    We will go back. Let me proceed. All right, I recognize 
myself. I oppose this amendment because it is unnecessary and 
overly restrictive and I urge my colleagues to do the same. The 
bill already includes the clear criteria for certifying when 
any sanctions imposed under the act should be removed. And as I 
have already stated, sanctions are indeed a powerful foreign 
policy tool and, in my opinion, it is simply common sense in 
this still unfolding situation to provide the Administration 
necessary flexibility in both their imposition and removal.
    I yield back the balance of my time. Is there any further 
debate on the amendment? I recognize Representative Wagner for 
5 minutes.
    Mrs. Wagner. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I have to stand 
in strong opposition to Mr. Perry's amendment. The gentleman's 
amendment adds a sanctions removal requirement that will, in 
fact, discourage the President from imposing the critical 
sanctions authorized by the underlying bill. It completely 
removes the President's authority to lift sanctions without a 
new, specific act of Congress removing those sanctions. This is 
well beyond anything ever enacted in U.S. law.
    The United States needs to demonstrate its resolve, its 
strong resolve to protect all Americans by sanctioning those 
who attacked our personnel in Havana who were serving at the 
behest of our government in the State Department, the 
Department of Defense. This amendment all but guarantees that 
those sanctions will not be levied, Mr. Chairman. It would 
deter any President, current or future, from ever imposing the 
sanctions.
    This undermines one of our most valuable foreign policy 
tools and sets a terrible precedence. I urge my colleagues to 
protect the integrity and utility of our sanctions system and 
oppose the gentleman's amendment. I yield back the balance of 
my time.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentlelady yields back.
    Is there any further debate on the amendment?
    Hearing no further requests to speak, the question is on 
the amendment number 366. We are going to take a vote by voice. 
All members please unmute your microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it and the 
amendment is not agreed to. And, without objection, the motion 
to reconsider is laid upon the table.
    For what purpose does the Representative from Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Perry, seek recognition?
    Mr. Perry. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
    [The Amendment offered by Mr. Perry follows:]

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    Mr. Meeks. The Clerk shall distribute which, that is 367?
    Mr. Perry. 367. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Meeks. The Clerk shall distribute the amendment to the 
staff, virtually, and here in the hearing room.
    Has everyone received a copy of the amendment?
    The Clerk will please report the amendment.
    The Clerk. OK. Amendment Number 367, the amendment in the 
nature of a substitute to H.R. 4914.
    Mr. Meeks. Without objection, further reading of the 
amendment will be dispensed with, a point of order reserved, 
and the Representative from Pennsylvania is now recognized for 
5 minutes in support of his amendment.
    Mr. Perry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    There are instances during committee markups when the 
underlying bill is stronger than its ANS and this is one of 
those instances. The way the ANS is written, even if the 
President determines that these so-called anomalous health 
incidents are actually being orchestrated by a malign actor, 
the President is not required to do anything to protect U.S. 
personnel. In short, this ANS does absolutely nothing.
    Let me repeat that again. Even if China or Russia or 
another American adversary is attacking U.S. personnel and 
leaving them with debilitating brain trauma, this committee is 
ready to tell the President of the United States that he or she 
does not have to react in any way whatsoever. I am not sure if 
that is not dereliction of duty, but I do not know what it is 
if that is not.
    The underlying bill and the ANS cite an important study on 
the issue, a 2020 report by the National Academy of Sciences. 
In that report, the researchers argue that many of the 
distinctive and acute signs, symptoms, and observations 
reported by affected employees are consistent with the effects 
of directed pulsed radio frequency energy and that directed 
pulsed RF energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism in 
explaining these cases.
    Despite this study, the Biden Administration is refusing to 
acknowledge the near reality that these are not just random 
health incidents; they are almost certainly directed attacks 
from an adversary. What is logically absurd about this ANS 
given the Administration's position is that countries may be 
sanctioned for what are essentially random anomalous health 
incidents. First of all, why on earth would the U.S. Congress 
waste its time passing a bill to give the President authority 
he already has? More to the point, why on earth would we waste 
our time in punishing anomalous health incidents?
    An anomalous or irregular health incident could literally 
mean anything. It is a vacuous expression meant to shield the 
Administration from any responsibility or accountability in 
protecting the American people, its first obligation and sacred 
duty. We have seen time and again that this Administration 
consistently fails at keeping our citizens safe. For anyone who 
needs convincing, let me remind you of the hundreds of 
Americans still stranded in the Taliban's 13th century Islamist 
theocracy.
    With respect to this bill, here is the point. If these 
Havana Syndrome attacks are truly anomalous health incidents, 
then there is no purpose for this ANS at all. It simply doesn't 
make sense. Worse still, it gives the Administration an easy 
out. Even if the Biden Administration received enough evidence 
to prompt them to finally concede that a foreign adversary is 
attacking U.S. personnel, even in that case they still wouldn't 
be pressured by Congress to apply sanctions against defending 
foreign persons and governments.
    That is why I have introduced an amendment to strike 
several instances in this bill where it says the President only 
may apply sanction, instead directs that the President shall 
apply sanctions against offending foreign persons and 
governments. There is bipartisan consensus that these are 
attacks being conducted by a foreign adversary and if the Biden 
Administration fails to call out these attacks for what they 
are, they are providing aid and comfort to our enemies and 
encouraging future attacks on American personnel.
    With that I urge the passage of this amendment and I yield 
the balance, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
myself for 5 minutes. I oppose this amendment because it is 
overly restrictive and unhelpful to the bipartisan work of this 
committee and I encourage all my colleagues to do the same. As 
I said before, investigations are ongoing to fully understand 
the cause of these anomalous health incidents, which I strongly 
support since we need the best information possible to inform 
our actions.
    So flexibility is key. The executive branch must have 
latitude to deploy these tools most effectively as the picture 
becomes clear. These sanctions authorities must be permissive. 
It is my understanding that H.R. 4914, as introduced, was the 
only bill put forth in the House during this Congress related 
to Havana Syndrome that was not originally bipartisan.
    But the work of my team, working with Mr. Ranking Member 
McCaul and Republican staff for over 2 months as Mr. McCaul has 
stated to negotiate permissive authorities that members from 
both sides of the aisle can support corrects that anomaly and 
reflects the proud tradition we have on this committee of 
putting politics aside when dealing with such serious matters.
    This amendment seeks to undo the hard work and focus and 
work that I really appreciate working with Mr. McCaul in coming 
to a bipartisan consensus and therefore I oppose it. I yield 
back the balance of my time.
    Is there any further debate on the amendment?
    Hearing no further requests to speak, the question is on 
the Perry amendment number 367. We are going to take a vote by 
voice. All members please unmute your microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it and the 
amendment is not agreed to. And, without objection, the motion 
to reconsider is laid upon the table.
    The question is now on the McCaul amendment in the nature 
of a substitute number 42. We are going to take a vote by 
voice. All members, again, please unmute your microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. And, without 
objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
    The question now is to report H.R. 4914 with the 
recommendation that the bill do pass, as amended. We are going 
to take a vote by voice. All members, again, unmute your 
microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. And, without 
objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. 
Without objection, the staff is authorized to make any 
technical and conforming changes.
    This concludes our business today.
    Mr. McCaul. Mr. Chairman, can I make a--just in conclusion, 
I want to thank all the members. I want to thank you for 
working with me in a bipartisan way. As you stated that is a 
tradition of this committee and I intended to fulfill that. And 
I also want to thank all the members, particularly you, Mr. 
Chairman, all the members on both sides of the aisle. As you 
know, I missed the last markup because my wife was at MD 
Anderson while I was (inaudible) and it was very heartfelt to 
me to have members on both sides of the aisle contact me 
wishing her well, and she is well, and for that I am very 
grateful. I yield back.
    Mr. Meeks. Thank you. And we continue to have your wife in 
our prayers. We welcome you back. You were missed. You were 
missed. Mrs. Wagner, Representative Wagner did do a fine job, 
but there is only one Michael McCaul, and it is indeed, you 
know, people often do not know what happens behind the scenes 
and the conversations that we have.
    It is a pleasure to have you as a partner working together 
in the spirit of bipartisanship and trying to move our 
committee to look forward in the same traditions that we have 
always done, so it is good to have you as my partner on this 
Foreign Affairs Committee and I mean that from the bottom of my 
heart.
    This concludes our business today. And I want to thank also 
all the staff on both sides of the aisle because that is really 
important. They have worked very hard on this in getting 
together, so I just want to make sure I acknowledge the staff 
on both sides of the aisle for all of the work that you have 
done, as well as all of the members on both sides of the aisle 
for your contributions and your assistance with today's markup. 
It is truly an honor to be the chair of this committee. With 
that this markup is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 4:33 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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