[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS MARKUP

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 14, 2017

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today the House Committee on 
Foreign Affairs held a markup of very important pieces of legislation. 
I wish to commend Chairman Royce and the Ranking Member for the 
bipartisan approach to advancing a number of important measures.
   Briefly, I want to comment on the Chairman's H.R. 2219 on increasing 
the role of the financial industry in combatting human trafficking.
   This bill will force an appraisal of best practices to stop the flow 
of funds from human trafficking and integrate the Treasury Department 
into a whole-of-government effort to combat the scourge of human 
trafficking. In this regard, it echoes provisions in H.R. 2200, which 
passed the House earlier this year.
   Wisely, it takes a ``follow the money'' approach, and asks the 
question, why do traffickers traffic? Because that is where the money 
is. Unlike hard to transport drugs, which are sold only once to end 
users and then consumed--human traffickers cynically see people as a 
commodity which can be bought and sold, used and exploited, over and 
over again. This will help staunch the flow of funds from such 
exploitation, and thereby disincentivize those whose greed drives them 
to reduce their fellow human beings as a means to an end.
   Last week our subcommittee held a hearing on Advancing Human Rights 
to Combat Extremism. One of the takeaways underscored the need on 
supporting key allies in the Muslim world who bravely stand up against 
the extremists. In this fight, we have no more important an ally than 
Jordan. I, therefore, strongly support the Chairman's ``United States-
Jordan Defense Cooperation Extension Act.''
   The War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act, an amendment to the State 
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, is yet another effort to 
provide for the means to punish those who engage in genocide or war 
crimes. Since we continue to see such crimes committed in countries 
such as Syria, Iraq and the Central African Republic, we must continue 
our efforts to apply justice to those who so heartlessly take the lives 
of entire groups of people.
   While there is an International Criminal Court, and regional 
tribunals have been established to punish these criminals in countries 
such as Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, these criminals too often 
manage to escape punishment. Russia or China often block our efforts to 
engage the ICC, and even when the court is empowered to move forward, 
very little is accomplished.
   That was why I introduced the concurrent resolution in the last 
Congress to create a special court for Syria. Unfortunately, while the 
House overwhelmingly passed that measure, the Senate declined to 
consider it.
   Nevertheless, we must continue to press forward with efforts to make 
it easier to bring perpetrators of genocide and war crimes to trial--
both to bring justice for their victims and as a warning to others that 
their actions don't provide for impunity. That is why I support 
Representative Foxx's bill.

                          ____________________