[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 86 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3627-H3632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECT AND PRESERVE INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY ACT
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1493) to protect and preserve international cultural
property at risk due to political instability, armed conflict, or
natural or other disasters, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1493
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect and Preserve
International Cultural Property Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, the
Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, the Committee
on Armed Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate.
(2) Cultural property.--The term ``cultural property''
includes property covered under--
(A) the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, concluded at The
Hague on May 14, 1954 (Treaty Doc. 106-1(A));
(B) Article 1 of the Convention Concerning the Protection
of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by
UNESCO on November 23, 1972 (commonly referred to as the
``1972 Convention''); or
(C) Article 1 of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted by UNESCO on November
14, 1970 (commonly referred to as the ``1970 UNESCO
Convention'').
SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Over the years, international cultural property has
been looted, trafficked, lost, damaged, or destroyed due to
political instability, armed conflict, natural disasters, and
other threats.
(2) During China's Cultural Revolution, many antiques were
destroyed, including a large portion of old Beijing, and
Chinese authorities are now attempting to rebuild portions of
China's lost architectural heritage.
(3) In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, after seizing power in
Cambodia, systematically destroyed mosques and nearly every
Catholic church in the country, along with many Buddhist
temples, statues, and Buddhist literature.
(4) In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas,
ancient statues carved into a cliffside in central
Afghanistan, leading to worldwide condemnation.
(5) After the fall of Saddam Hussein, thieves looted the
Iraq Museum in Baghdad, resulting in the loss of
approximately 15,000 items, including ancient amulets,
sculptures, ivories, and cylinder seals. Many of these items
remain unrecovered.
(6) The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami not only
affected 11 countries, causing massive loss of life, but also
damaged or destroyed libraries, archives, and World Heritage
Sites such as the Mahabalipuram in India, the Sun Temple of
Koranak on the Bay of Bengal, and the Old Town of Galle and
its fortifications in Sri Lanka.
(7) In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake destroyed art, artifacts,
and archives, and partially destroyed the 17th century
Haitian city of Jacmel.
(8) In Mali, the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Ansar
Dine destroyed tombs and shrines in the ancient city of
Timbuktu--a major center for trade, scholarship, and Islam in
the 15th and 16th centuries--and threatened collections of
ancient manuscripts.
(9) In Egypt, recent political instability has led to the
ransacking of museums, resulting in the destruction of
countless ancient artifacts that will forever leave gaps in
humanity's record of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
(10) In Syria, the ongoing civil war has resulted in the
shelling of medieval cities, damage to five World Heritage
Sites, and the looting of museums containing artifacts that
date back more than six millennia and include some of the
earliest examples of writing.
(11) In Iraq and Syria, the militant group ISIL has
destroyed numerous cultural sites and artifacts, such as the
Tomb of Jonah in July 2014, in an effort to eradicate ethnic
and religious minorities from contested territories.
Concurrently, cultural antiquities that escape demolition are
looted and trafficked to help fund ISIL's militant
operations.
(12) On February 12, 2015, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously adopted resolution 2199 (2015), which
``[r]eaffirms its decision in paragraph 7 of resolution 1483
(2003) and decides that all Member States shall take
appropriate steps to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian
cultural property and other items of archaeological,
historical, cultural, rare scientific, and religious
importance illegally removed from Iraq since 6 August 1990
and from Syria since 15 March 2011, including by prohibiting
cross-border trade in such items, thereby allowing for their
eventual safe return to the Iraqi and Syrian people.''.
(13) United Nations Security Council resolution 2199 (2015)
also warns that ISIL and
[[Page H3628]]
other extremist groups are trafficking cultural heritage
items from Iraq and Syria to fund their recruitment efforts
and carry out terrorist attacks.
(14) The destruction of cultural property represents an
irreparable loss of humanity's common cultural heritage and
is therefore a loss for all Americans.
(15) Protecting international cultural property is a vital
part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect
of the United States for other cultures and the common
heritage of humanity.
(16) The United States Armed Forces have played important
roles in preserving and protecting cultural property. In
1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established a
commission to advise the United States military on the
protection of cultural property. The commission formed teams
of individuals known as the ``Monuments Men'' who are
credited with securing, cataloguing, and returning hundreds
of thousands of works of art stolen by the Nazis during World
War II.
(17) The Department of State, in response to the Convention
on Cultural Property Implementation Act, noted that ``the
legislation is important to our foreign relations, including
our international cultural relations. The expanding worldwide
trade in objects of archaeological and ethnological interest
has led to wholesale depredations in some countries,
resulting in the mutilation of ceremonial centers and
archaeological complexes of ancient civilizations and the
removal of stone sculptures and reliefs.''. The Department
further noted that ``[t]he United States considers that on
grounds of principle, good foreign relations, and concern for
the preservation of the cultural heritage of mankind, it
should render assistance in these situations.''.
(18) The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in
2006 to support the implementation of the 1954 Hague
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict and to coordinate with the United
States military, other branches of the United States
Government, and other cultural heritage nongovernmental
organizations in preserving international cultural property
threatened by political instability, armed conflict, or
natural or other disasters.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the
United States to--
(1) protect and preserve international cultural property at
risk of looting, trafficking, and destruction due to
political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other
disasters;
(2) protect international cultural property pursuant to its
obligations under international treaties to which the United
States is a party;
(3) prevent, in accordance with existing laws, importation
of cultural property pillaged, looted, stolen, or trafficked
at all times, including during political instability, armed
conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
(4) ensure that existing laws and regulations, including
import restrictions imposed through the Office of Foreign
Asset Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, are
fully implemented to prevent trafficking in stolen or looted
cultural property.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL
PROPERTY PROTECTION.
The Secretary of State shall designate a Department of
State employee at the Assistant Secretary level or above to
serve concurrently as the United States Coordinator for
International Cultural Property Protection. The Coordinator
shall--
(1) coordinate and promote efforts to protect international
cultural property, especially activities that involve
multiple Federal agencies;
(2) act as Chair of the Coordinating Committee on
International Cultural Property Protection established under
section 5;
(3) resolve interagency differences;
(4) develop strategies to reduce illegal trade and
trafficking in international cultural property in the United
States and abroad, including by reducing consumer demand for
such trade;
(5) support activities to assist countries that are the
principle sources of trafficked cultural property to protect
cultural heritage sites and to prevent cultural property
looting and theft;
(6) work with and consult domestic and international actors
such as foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations,
nongovernmental organizations, museums, educational
institutions, and research institutions to protect
international cultural property; and
(7) submit to the appropriate congressional committees the
annual report required under section 6.
SEC. 5. COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL
PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a Coordinating
Committee on International Cultural Property Protection (in
this section referred to as the ``Committee'').
(b) Functions.--The full Committee shall meet not less
often than annually to coordinate and inform Federal efforts
to protect international cultural property and to facilitate
the work of the United States Coordinator for International
Cultural Property Protection designated under section 4.
(c) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of the
United States Coordinator for International Cultural Property
Protection, who shall act as Chair, and representatives of
the following:
(1) The Department of State.
(2) The Department of Defense.
(3) The Department of Homeland Security, including U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
(4) The Department of the Interior.
(5) The Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
(6) The United States Agency for International Development.
(7) The Smithsonian Institution.
(8) Such other entities as the Chair determines
appropriate.
(d) Subcommittees.--The Committee may include such
subcommittees and taskforces as the Chair determines
appropriate. Such subcommittees or taskforces may be
comprised of a subset of the Committee members or of such
other members as the Chair determines appropriate. At the
discretion of the Chair, the provisions of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 552b of
title 5 of the United States Code (relating to open meetings)
shall not apply to activities of such subcommittees or
taskforces.
(e) Consultation.--The Committee shall consult with
governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including the
U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, museums, educational
institutions, and research institutions on efforts to promote
and protect international cultural property.
SEC. 6. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES TO PROTECT INTERNATIONAL
CULTURAL PROPERTY.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act and annually thereafter for the next six years, the
Secretary of State, acting through the United States
Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protection,
and in consultation with the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of
Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland
Security, as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that includes information
on activities of--
(1) the United States Coordinator and the Coordinating
Committee on International Cultural Property Protection to
protect international cultural property;
(2) the Department of State to protect international
cultural property, including activities undertaken pursuant
to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and other statutes,
international agreements, and policies, including--
(A) procedures the Department has instituted to protect
international cultural property at risk of destruction due to
political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other
disasters; and
(B) actions the Department has taken to protect
international cultural property in conflicts to which the
United States is a party;
(3) the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to protect international cultural property, including
activities and coordination with other Federal agencies,
international organizations, and nongovernmental
organizations regarding the protection of international
cultural property at risk due to political unrest, armed
conflict, natural or other disasters, and USAID development
programs;
(4) the Department of Defense to protect international
cultural property, including activities undertaken pursuant
to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and other cultural
property protection statutes and international agreements,
including--
(A) directives, policies, and regulations the Department
has instituted to protect international cultural property at
risk of destruction due to political instability, armed
conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
(B) actions the Department has taken to avoid damage to
cultural property through construction activities abroad; and
(5) the Department of Homeland Security and the Department
of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to
protect both international cultural property abroad and
international cultural property located in, or attempted to
be imported into, the United States, including activities
undertaken pursuant to statutes and international agreements,
including--
(A) statutes and regulations the Department has employed in
criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent and
interdict trafficking in stolen and smuggled cultural
property, including investigations into transnational
organized crime and smuggling networks; and
(B) actions the Department has taken in order to ensure the
consistent and effective application of law in cases relating
to both international cultural property abroad and
international cultural property located in, or attempted to
be imported into, the United States.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ENGAGE IN
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTECTION
ACTIVITIES WITH THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any agency that
is involved in international cultural property protection
activities is authorized to enter into agreements or
memoranda of understanding with the Smithsonian Institution
to temporarily engage personnel from the Smithsonian
Institution for the purposes of furthering such
[[Page H3629]]
international cultural property protection activities.
SEC. 8. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.
(a) Presidential Determination.--Notwithstanding subsection
(b) of section 304 of the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) (relating to a
Presidential determination that an emergency condition
applies with respect to any archaeological or ethnological
material of any State Party to the Convention), the President
shall apply the import restrictions referred to in such
section 304 with respect to any archaeological or
ethnological material of Syria, except that subsection (c) of
such section 304 shall not apply. Such import restrictions
shall take effect not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(b) Annual Determination Regarding Certification.--
(1) Determination.--
(A) In general.--The President shall, not less often than
annually, determine whether at least one of the conditions
specified in subparagraph (B) is met, and shall notify the
appropriate congressional committees of such determination.
(B) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in subparagraph
(A) are the following:
(i) The Government of Syria is incapable, at the time a
determination under such subparagraph is made, of fulfilling
the requirements to request an agreement under section 303 of
the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19
U.S.C. 2602).
(ii) It would be against the United States national
interest to enter into such an agreement.
(2) Termination of restrictions.--The import restrictions
referred to in subsection (a) shall terminate on the date
that is five years after the date on which the President
determines that neither of the conditions specified in
paragraph (1)(B) are met, unless before such termination date
Syria requests to enter into an agreement with the United
States pursuant to section 303 of the Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation Act, in which case such import
restrictions may remain in effect until the earliest of
either--
(A) the date that is three years after the date on which
Syria makes such a request; or
(B) the date on which the United States and Syria enter
into such an agreement.
(c) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive the import
restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified
cultural property if the President certifies to the
appropriate congressional committees that the conditions
described in paragraph (2) are met.
(2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph
(1) are the following:
(A) The foreign owner or custodian of the specified
cultural property has requested such property be temporarily
located in the United States for protection purposes.
(B) Such property shall be returned to the foreign owner or
custodian when requested by such foreign owner or custodian.
(C) Granting a waiver under this subsection will not
contribute to illegal trafficking in cultural property or
financing of criminal or terrorist activities.
(3) Action.--If the President grants a waiver under this
subsection, the specified cultural property that is the
subject of such waiver shall be placed in the temporary
custody of the United States Government or in the temporary
custody of a cultural or educational institution within the
United States for the purpose of protection, restoration,
conservation, study, or exhibition, without profit.
(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall
prevent application of the Act to render immune from seizure
under judicial process certain objects of cultural
significance imported into the United States for temporary
display or exhibition, and for other purposes (22 U.S.C.
2459; Public Law 89-259) with respect to archaeological or
ethnological material of Syria.
(d) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``archaeological or ethnological material of
Syria'' means cultural property of Syria and other items of
archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific, or
religious importance unlawfully removed from Syria on or
after March 15, 2011; and
(2) the term ``State Party'' has the meaning given such
term in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
General Leave
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I submit for the Record letters between the committees of
jurisdiction.
Madam Speaker, the history of civilization is under attack. The
Islamic State, also known as ISIS, continues to wreak havoc throughout
Iraq and Syria, laying a path of death and destruction in order to
establish and expand its caliphate.
{time} 2000
No offense is more appalling than the terrorists' complete disregard
for human life. ISIS has unleashed a campaign of sickening violence
against Shi'a Muslims and fellow Sunnis who do not share their radical
beliefs, as well as against vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities.
This includes its public beheadings and executions and the selling of
women and girls into sexual slavery.
Besides the human toll of ISIS' deplorable acts, we also mourn the
loss of society's cultural heritage, as the extremists loot and destroy
their way through ancient sites in the territories they conquer. We
have seen heartbreaking footage of ISIS drilling their way through
priceless artifacts in Mosul and bulldozing magnificent Mesopotamian
ruins in the 3000-year-old city of Nimrud. ISIS claims the annihilation
of cultural sites is meant to counter idolatry, but clearly these
terrorists have another goal: to remove all traces of the region's rich
and diverse religious and cultural past. By eliminating all evidence of
humanity's common heritage, they are paving the way for their own
horrifying brand of Islamist extremism.
What we are witnessing is a cultural genocide. For ISIS, however,
this looting of antiquities is big business. Some reports indicate that
they are earning as much as $100 million annually from the sale of
stolen artifacts, which they often sell to middlemen who can peddle
these treasures in old-fashioned markets or online.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Security Council adopted a
resolution that urged member states to take steps to prevent the
trafficking of Iraqi and Syrian cultural properties, and just last
week, all 193 U.N. members agreed to step up the prosecution of those
engaged in this illegal trade.
I want to commend the Committee on Foreign Affairs' ranking member,
Elliott Engel, for introducing this bipartisan bill that we have before
us this evening and for his continued leadership on this critical
issue. This bill, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural
Property Act, will help the U.S. do its part to counter the smuggling
and sale of stolen Syrian antiquities.
Specifically, the bill will improve coordination of U.S. efforts to
protect cultural property and prevent these artifacts from being
removed since the start of Syria's civil war from being sold or
imported into this country, into the United States. It is important to
note that the legislation's emergency import restrictions are not
designed to continue into perpetuity and can be waived under certain
conditions for the temporary safekeeping of cultural property within
the United States.
I also want to make clear that this bill only restricts the import of
certain Syrian antiquities that have been removed from that country
during the current conflict. Nothing in this legislation is meant to
interfere with the legal sale of antiquities that do not fall under
this category nor with other aspects of the import process.
I want to again thank Eliott Engel, the ranking member of our
committee, for his work on this measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Committee on Ways and Means,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2015.
Hon. Edward R. Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rayburn House Office
Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R.
1493, the ``Protect and Preserve International Cultural
Property Act.'' As a result of your having consulted with us
on provisions in H.R. 1493 that fall within the Rule X
jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, I agree to
waive consideration of this bill so that it may proceed
expeditiously to the House floor.
The Committee on Ways and Means takes this action with the
mutual understanding that by forgoing consideration of H.R.
1493 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the
subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and
the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as
the bill or similar legislation moves forward
[[Page H3630]]
so that we may address any remaining issues that fall within
our Rule X jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the
right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees to any House-Senate conference involving this or
similar legislation, and requests your support for such
request.
Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter
confirming this understanding, and would ask that a copy of
our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the
Congressional Record during floor consideration thereof.
Sincerely,
Paul Ryan,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2015.
Hon. Paul Ryan,
Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means, Longworth House
Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 1493, the Protect and
Preserve International Cultural Property Act, and for
agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of that
bill.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Ways and Means, or prejudice its jurisdictional
prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the
future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an
appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate
conference involving this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1493 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and
look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as
this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Washington, DC, June 1, 2015.
Hon. Ed Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing to you concerning the
jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Homeland Security
in H.R. 1493, the ``Protect and Preserve International
Cultural Property Act.'' The bill contains provisions that
fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland
Security.
I recognize and appreciate the desire to bring this
legislation before the House of Representatives in an
expeditious manner, and accordingly, the Committee on
Homeland Security will not assert its jurisdictional claim
over this bill by seeking a sequential referral. The
Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding
that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1493 at this time, we
do not waive any jurisdiction over subject matter contained
in this or similar legislation.
This waiver is also given with the understanding that the
Committee on Homeland Security expressly reserves its
authority to seek conferees on any provision within its
jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference that may be
convened on this or any similar legislation, and requests
your support for such a request.
I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming
this understanding with respect to H.R. 1493, and ask that a
copy of this letter and your response be included in the
Congressional Record during consideration of this bill on the
House floor.
Sincerely,
Michael T. McCaul,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, June 1, 2015.
Hon. Michael McCaul,
Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 1493, the Protect and
Preserve International Cultural Property Act, and for
agreeing to forgo a sequential referral request of that bill
to the Committee on Homeland Security.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Homeland Security, or prejudice its
jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or similar
legislation in the future. I would support your effort to
seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any
House-Senate conference involving this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1493 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and
look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as
this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
____
Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, June 1, 2015.
Hon. Edward R. Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter concerning
H.R. 1493, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural
Property Act, as amended. I am writing to confirm that,
although there are certain provisions in the bill that fall
within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed
Services, the committee will forgo action on this bill in
order to expedite this legislation for floor consideration.
I am glad we agree that forgoing consideration of the bill
does not prejudice the Committee on Armed Services with
respect to any future jurisdictional claim over the
provisions contained in the bill or similar legislation that
fall within the committee's Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate
your support for the appointment of committee members to any
House-Senate conference convened to consider such provisions.
Thank you for agreeing to place a copy of your letter
acknowledging our jurisdictional interest, along with this
response, into the Congressional Record during consideration
of the measure on the House floor. I look forward to
continuing to work together as this legislation moves toward
final passage.
Sincerely,
William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2015.
Hon. William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman, House Armed Services Committee, 2216 Rayburn House
Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 1493, the Protect and
Preserve International Cultural Property Act, and for
agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of that
bill.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Armed Services, or prejudice its jurisdictional
prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the
future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an
appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate
conference involving this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1493 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and
look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as
this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC, June 1, 2015.
Hon. Ed Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, 2170 Rayburn House
Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Royce, I am writing with respect to H.R.
1493, the ``Protect and Preserve International Cultural
Property Act,'' which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary. As a result of your having consulted with us on
provisions in H.R. 1493 that fall within the Rule X
jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I agree to
discharge our Committee from further consideration of this
bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor
for consideration.
The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual
understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1493 at
this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject
matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that our
Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as
this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may
address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our
Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an
appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate
conference involving this or similar legislation, and asks
that you support any such request.
I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming
this understanding with respect to H.R. 1493, and would ask
that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be
included in the Congressional Record during Floor
consideration of H.R. 1493.
Sincerely,
Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2015.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary, 2138 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 1493, the Protect and
Preserve International Cultural Property Act, and for
agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of that
bill.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the
Committee on the Judiciary, or prejudice its jurisdictional
prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the
future. I would support
[[Page H3631]]
your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees to any House-Senate conference involving this
legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1493 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and
look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as
this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of my legislation,
H.R. 1493, as amended, and yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, we have worked very, very hard on this bill. This is a
very, very important bill. So let me first thank Chairman Ed Royce for
his efforts to move this bill forward. He is a good partner on the
committee, and we couldn't have gone this far without him. I also want
to thank the lead cosponsors, Representative Chris Smith and
Representative Bill Keating, who have been champions on this issue. I
want to thank Mr. Chabot for his support and his eloquence in speaking
for the bill.
One of the things that we do on the Committee on Foreign Affairs is,
wherever possible, we work in a bipartisan fashion, and this is a
perfect example of working together in a bipartisan fashion for
something that is really just so important.
Madam Speaker, by now we have all seen footage of ISIS extremists
taking sledgehammers, as Mr. Chabot mentioned, to ancient,
irreplaceable artifacts across the territory they control. Now, these
are not random acts of vandalism. We are witnessing a deliberate
campaign to attempt to rewrite world history. From the tomb of Jonah in
Mosul to Yazidi shrines in Sinjar, ISIS is leveling sites that preserve
a record of the region's rich and diverse past. I think Mr. Chabot put
it very well when he said the same thing.
We have seen this tactic before. In Afghanistan, the Taliban wiped
out the Bamiyan Buddhas in March of 2000. Who can forget that? During
the Holocaust, the Nazis systematically targeted Jewish property as
part of their effort to wipe out an entire race.
Now, some people will say why are we talking about the destruction of
ancient ruins while so many people are suffering and dying at the hands
of ISIS? That is not important. Of course, we need to stay focused on
stopping the violence and alleviating the dire humanitarian situation
festering across the region, but the reality is that we cannot separate
these issues so easily. After all, before ISIS reduces these sites to
rubble, the group loots everything they can carry, traffics the
artifacts on the black market, and uses those resources to fund their
violent rampage.
So it is directly connected to the murder and killing of so many
civilians and their brutality. They use these artifacts to get money so
that they can keep their war machine going, so that they can keep their
killings going, so that they can keep their brutality going. So the two
are connected.
ISIS has ransacked thousands of artifacts from dozens of World
Heritage Sites, places like cities of Mari and Dura Europos, which were
virtually untouched before this crisis. These places are now lost to
history, and their destruction has funneled, as I said before, millions
of dollars into ISIS' coffers.
We need to cut off the source of funding and at the same time work to
preserve this imperiled cultural history. There is already a good
effort underway, a global effort underway.
In February, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on
governments to prohibit trade of cultural property looted from Syria
and Iraq. The Security Council found that this step would reduce ISIS'
operational capability to organize and carry out terrorist attacks. Our
Western allies have cracked down on traffickers trying to sell looted
artifacts from Iraq and Syria. Now is the time for the United States to
do more, and that is precisely what this bill does.
First of all, this bill takes steps to ensure the antiquities
trafficking that is lining ISIS' pockets is not taking place within our
borders. This legislation would impose tough, new import restrictions
on cultural artifacts removed from Syria similar to restrictions we
passed in 2004 with respect to Iraq. So we are doing the same thing
that we did in Iraq in 2004 with Syria, trying to prevent these looted
artifacts from funding the terrorist machine.
Nothing in this legislation would interfere with the legal sale or
exhibition of antiquities that were not smuggled out of Syria during
the current crisis, and there are exceptions to allow artifacts to come
here for protection and restoration. These new rules would remain in
effect until the crisis in Syria is resolved and America is able to
work with a new Syrian Government to protect cultural property from
trafficking under a bilateral agreement in accordance with America's
national interests.
Secondly, this bill enhances collaboration among government agencies
already working on this problem. This bill would bring together
programs, from the Smithsonian, to the Pentagon, to Homeland Security,
through a new interagency body with a single coordinator. It would
improve congressional oversight to make sure we are efficient in the
way we are addressing this challenge. These steps will not replace the
authorities of existing bodies but will help ensure their programs work
together effectively.
This bill represents the newest chapter in a long tradition. Since
World War II, America has led the world in protecting historical
property from those bent on its destruction. That leadership is needed
today. We must act swiftly to confront this threat, to cut off a
critical source of ISIS funding, to stand up to this barbaric brand of
psychological warfare, and to stop those determined to rewrite history.
I urge all colleagues to support this legislation.
I thank Mr. Chabot again.
Madam Speaker, let me close by noting that with each passing day,
ISIS is selling looted artifacts to the highest bidder, further
financing death and destruction. Whatever is left behind, they reduce
to rubble, leveling religious sites, digging up ancient cities, and
erasing the last traces of long lost civilizations whose histories have
remained in soil and sand for thousands of years, and these people
destroy that.
We must stand up to these acts. We must do more to cut off ISIS'
funding and save cultural property. That is why it is so important. To
help achieve this effort, we need to pass H.R. 1493. I urge my
colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I would first ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 944.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the whole world continues to recoil in horror at ISIS'
depravity. The ancient cities that face destruction at its hands are
considered the birthplace of modern civilization. Just weeks ago, ISIS
conquered the ancient city of Palmyra, the so-called jewel of the
desert. Recent reports that ISIS has not destroyed these sites may give
some of us hope, but judging from their prior barbaric acts, it is
probably just a matter of time before they do the same thing there as
they have done so horrifically in other places.
The legislation before us today--and I again want to thank Mr. Engel
for introducing the legislation--and oversight of the U.S. agencies
responsible for recognizing and protecting cultural property, ensuring
that such treasures are protected to the best of our ability, that is
what this legislation would do.
I appreciate the other committees of jurisdiction for working with
the Committee on Foreign Affairs on this measure, particularly the
Committee on Ways and Means for its assistance on the critical import
restrictions on this bill.
As Mr. Engel mentioned, when one is looking at this, we are looking
at cultural things which have been--let's face it--destroyed forever.
Some of these things are thousands of years old, and you can't bring
them back. And you can't help but think--we are talking about physical
things here, but we have also seen them do other horrific things.
[[Page H3632]]
When they take a Jordanian pilot and in a particularly barbaric
fashion essentially set him on fire in a cage, when they take people
out to a beach and one by one behead them, when they sell innocent
women and young girls into slavery, over and over again, we have seen
these horrific things happening, and it is time the world stood up to
this group, both for the horrific things they are doing on historic
artifacts which can't be brought back, but also the human lives that
they have so callously extinguished. This group must be stopped. Let's
hope that this evening we are at least taking a step in that direction.
I again thank Mr. Engel, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Madam Speaker, as we vote on H.R. 1493 in the House
today, I would like to share with you the series of unfortunate and
barbaric events that have plagued The Cultural Museum of Mosul and
robbed the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan of their
historical lineage.
No stranger to war and tribal conflict, the people of Mosul, Iraq
have suffered persecution and displacement under the Ottoman Empire,
British colonial rule, and various tyrannical regimes. Despite all
these hardships, Mosul was once a city of commercial importance to the
region. Commerce and trade brought a rich exchange of history and
culture to Mosul, which was preserved in the Museum of Mosul.
The museum provided a connection to a national identity and pride,
which was once flourishing and prosperous. They say it is important to
know your past so that you can learn from the mistakes of previous
generations and better prepare for the future that is ahead. The people
of Mosul were robbed of that opportunity in April of this year by ISIS.
Just days before the reopening of the museum, which was looted during
the Iraq War in 2003, ISIS released a horrific video showing militants
using sledgehammers to demolish stone sculptures and other centuries-
old artifacts.
The world watched in horror and disbelief as centuries of Assyrian
history were obliterated in minutes. As we fight against the injustices
perpetrated by ISIS militants around the world we must also fight to
preserve the cultural integrity of these historical civilizations. I
want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their
dedication in preserving the historical treasures of the people of
Mosul. ISIS has robbed these people of their freedoms but we must
protect their past so that they may have a better future.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by
thanking Mr. Eliot Engel, the Ranking Member of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, for his bill, the Protect and Preserve International
Cultural Property Act, H.R. 1493.
I am privileged to be the lead co-sponsor of this bill, just as I was
last year.
This bill could not be more timely, given the depredations of ISIS
that we see played out on our TV screens when we turn on the nightly
news--the horrific beheadings and killing of Christians and other
religious minorities such as Yezidis by Islamist fanatics.
These murderers help finance their terror in part by looting cultural
antiquities and coins from areas of Syria and Iraq that they control.
Congress has already acted with respect to banning importation of
``blood antiquities'' from Iraq, which this bill would now extend to
Syria. As such, this bill is part of the war on terror, helping to dry
up sources of terror financing.
We also see that these fanatics will destroy what they cannot loot.
This bill increases the inter-agency cooperation, including involvement
of ``Monuments Men'' units of our armed forces, in striving to protect
a cultural heritage which is part of our world's patrimony.
Finally, I want to highlight a provision of this bill that was not in
the version we passed in the last Congress, but one which is an
important addition, namely, a safe-harbor provision for those who seek
to bring into the country important cultural artifacts that are being
threatened with destruction, This safe harbor provision allows them to
be placed in the temporary protective custody of the United States
government or a museum.
I want to close by thanking Ranking Member Engel for introducing this
important piece of legislation, and would like to thank him and all
staff members who worked so hard on bringing this important legislation
to the floor tonight.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1493, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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