[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1030-E1031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               H.R. 3030, H.R. 5480, H.R. 5105, H.R. 4819

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we voted on a number 
of critical pieces of legislation. One of these, which I supported, was 
H.R. 3030, the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 
2017, sponsored by my friend Ann Wagner.
  This bill will strengthen our efforts to anticipate, prevent, and 
mitigate genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
  Our Foreign Service officers are often on the front lines where there 
is a risk or reality of atrocity crimes. H.R. 3030 will ensure they 
have the right training to recognize and respond to early warning signs 
of such crimes. This legislation will also strengthen Congressional 
oversight by requiring the President to annually report on what is 
happening on the ground, how the United States has responded, and 
recommendations for strengthening U.S. response. I was proud to 
cosponsor this bill and I commend my colleagues for supporting it.
  I commend my colleague for naming this bill after the late, iconic 
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. He spoke so powerfully about the 
unique, persistent evil of anti-Semitism that generated the Holocaust, 
warning that ``the antisemite is by definition ideologically fanatic 
and pathologically racist . . . an antisemite is someone who has never 
met me, never heard of me, yet he hates me.''
  Mr. Wiesel and I worked together at the historic 2004 Berlin 
conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 
There 55 participating governments committed to specific, significant 
actions to combat anti-Semitism. They were following the parliamentary 
movement to get the OSCE to fully and forcefully fight anti-Semitism. 
That movement originated in a Helsinki Commission hearing I chaired in 
May 2002 and I was proud to lead this movement together with 
parliamentarians from Germany, the UK, and France.
  In his Berlin keynote address, Mr. Wiesel said, ``We know . . . that 
anti-Semitism is dangerous not only to Jews but to countries too, where 
it is allowed to flourish . . . When a Jew is slapped in the face, 
humankind itself falls to ground . . . Antisemitism is rooted in 
hatred; its language is a language of hatred, it doctrine is filled 
with hatred--and hatred by its nature, always runs overboard, crossing 
geographical boundaries and ethnic affiliations. It is a contagious 
disease.''
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Wiesel also dedicated his life to the prevention of 
other genocides, calling for action to prevent genocides in Bosnia,

[[Page E1031]]

Rwanda, and Sudan. Yet another genocide was committed after Sudan, this 
one against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic 
minorities in Iraq and Syria by ISIS. The survival of these ancient 
communities depends on humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery 
assistance from the United States and other countries.
  Last June this house unanimously passed H.R. 390, the Iraq and Syria 
Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act, so that our aid 
reaches the genocide survivors and perpetrators are held accountable. 
The Senate has still not been given the opportunity to vote on this 
urgently needed legislation. I again call for the Senate to pass H.R. 
390 now and send it to the President for his signature. This 
legislation will significantly strengthen the ongoing efforts of his 
Administration to directly help Christian and Yazidi genocide survivors 
at risk of extinction.
  Another critical piece of legislation for which I voted in support 
was the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, H.R. 
5480.
  Chairman Royce's Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment 
Act expands, and improves upon, our previous microenterprise 
legislation. By way of background, the Committee on Foreign Affairs has 
a long history in this field, dating back at least to former chairman 
Ben Gilman's Microenterprise for Self-Reliance and International Anti-
Corruption Act of 2000. I myself introduced the Microenterprise Results 
and Accountability Act of 2004, and a bill that amended the 2000 
legislation, both of which became law.
  In keeping with a deeper understanding of how to combat poverty and 
maintaining a needed focus on women, Chairman Royce's bill broadens the 
scope from microenterprise to include small and medium enterprises. 
While it is important to make sure that the very poor are not being 
neglected, small and medium enterprises help power development and 
thereby empower the poor. Thus I encouraged all to support H.R. 5480 
and the House voted to pass the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I also supported H.R. 5105, the BUILD Act.
  I thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Ted Yoho of Florida, for 
offering this critical and visionary legislation. This legislation will 
modernize development finance to benefit the developing world, 
consistent with U.S. policy objectives.
  To cite one critical component, the BUILD Act serves to counteract 
China's strategy in Africa, which uses development finance as a means 
to serve China's ends, even if that means propping up brutal dictators.
  I thank Chairman Ed Royce for his leadership in guiding this 
legislation through the Foreign Affairs Committee, and for his 
responsiveness to concerns I had relayed, relating to China.
  In particular, I appreciate changes made to the initial draft of this 
bill concerning the denominating of future loans in foreign currencies.
  While the International Development Finance Corporation that this 
legislation would create needs to have flexibility, including issuing 
loans in foreign currencies, we must remember it is also the long-term 
geostrategic goal of China, Russia, and certain other countries to 
replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
  I therefore appreciate Chairman Royce's amended text, which adds, 
``Foreign currency denominated loans and guaranties should only be 
provided if the Board determines there is a substantive policy 
rationale for such loans and guaranties.''
  Beyond this, however, there should be a clear policy statement on the 
importance and overall strategic interest in retaining the dollar as 
the world's reserve currency. Indeed, earlier this year, China met with 
central bankers from 14 African nations to discuss the viability of 
using China's yuan as the reserve currency for the region.
  This nonetheless underscores the urgency for creating an 
International Development Finance Corporation, which the BUILD Act 
accomplishes, while underscoring the need for policy guidance that 
loans in foreign currencies not be used to undermine reserve dollar 
dominance.
  I further voiced support of H.R. 4819, the DELTA Act, introduced by 
my friend and colleague Mr. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, of which I 
was a cosponsor.
  There is much in this bill to recommend it--from prioritizing anti-
poaching and wildlife trafficking efforts in the greater Okavango River 
Basin, to helping preserve the majestic elephant and other endangered 
species, to providing sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
  One other aspect of this bill which I highlighted was that it enables 
us to partner with, and coordinate efforts with, the countries of 
Botswana, Namibia and Angola.
  Botswana and Namibia in particular are two countries which are often 
overlooked, but which have made great strides in recent years towards 
becoming responsible partners. Both are, in the context of Africa, good 
places in which to do business, and should be commended for their 
efforts in improving governance. Their partnership in the greater 
Okavango initiative underscores this trend.
  Angola is a nation which, after decades of civil war followed by 
strongman rule, is beginning to tackle corruption under new President 
Joao Lourenco. While it remains to be seen how far and how quickly 
Angola can go toward becoming a reliable partner and a country in which 
to do business, its inclusion as a DELTA Act partner country is a sign 
of confidence in the future.
  I urged my colleagues to support the DELTA Act, and it also passed 
the House yesterday.

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