[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.
____________________