Gregory Meeks

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McCaul for his statements. Yes, we work very closely together, as well as many Members in this House, especially on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, strong fighters on both sides of the aisle for human rights. The question that presents itself with this plain and simple bill that simply calls for us to establish an office to monitor and combat Islamophobia at the State Department is: Do we all agree? I think I have heard my colleagues on the other side say that Islamophobia is wrong. That means you know that Islamophobia exists. You know it when you see it. You know it when you feel it. You know it when you talk about the Uyghurs, the Rohingyas, or right here in the United States of America. There is a definition right there. You see it. They have said it. We have said it. Islamophobia exists. What we need to do is call it out. What we need to do is lock arms and stand together. This is an important bill. The camera of history is rolling on us. It is an important bill, and it is a bill of consequence. It should be of consequence to every human being on the planet, no matter your religion or no matter your race. It is important to nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world. We need to focus on what this bill does. Some of the proudest moments of mine--I live in and represent one of the most diverse districts in all the United States, in the most diverse county in the United States. I have seen ugliness raise its ugly head, whether it is racism, anti-Semitism, or Islamophobia. But the proud moment is when I see Muslims and Jews walking arm-in- arm against Islamophobia and against anti-Semitism, when I see people of all races and nationalities standing together and not being silent. Inaction is unacceptable. We cannot stand idly by as atrocity after atrocity is inflicted on people of the Muslim faith, or any faith, for no reason other than bigotry against their religion. Freedom of religion is a human right. We can and must do better at combating Islamophobia here at home and abroad. I wish it was today, but I keep dreams and hopes alive that we will lock arms--we have good people here--and say in unison, as I have seen people do in my district, that we are going to call out Islamophobia wherever we see it, the same with racism and the same with anti-Semitism. Mr. Speaker, this bill that everybody is watching--we travel a lot on our committee. We know that people watch what is happening on this floor. They take it to their gut. I hope that they look at this bill and know that we are going to call it out and not accept it. Silence will not be accepted. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I could not agree more. The world is seeing an alarming rise in anti-Muslim sentiment and violence, and we are witnessing those same trends, unfortunately, here in the United States of America. In recent years, anti-Muslim bigotry has been on the rise with mosques being vandalized and Muslims beaten and attacked and elected officials on the receiving end of death threats and other hateful rhetoric all due to their Muslim faith. Bigotry is unacceptable, and it is incumbent on all of us to condemn it wherever and whenever it occurs. The great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' Not only must we address anti-Muslim bigotry here in the United States, but we are also obligated to confront that bigotry wherever and whenever we see it happening around the world. In 2019, New Zealand witnessed the worst terrorist attack in that nation's history when a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers and injured 40 others at two mosques. Just last week, here on the House floor, we discussed the horrific atrocities being committed against Uyghur Muslims in China and the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. We did it in a bipartisan way with my good friend and colleague Mr. McCaul. That is who we should be, and that is what we should represent because freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, and no one should be the target of discrimination because of their faith. Prior to considering H.R. 5665, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held numerous hearings, including with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and leading academics across the country that discussed and better informed our understanding of anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia. With the passage of H.R. 5665, the establishment of an office at the State Department to help combat the scourge of Islamophobia, we take an important step toward addressing this problem. That is why I am proud to support the Combating International Islamophobia Act. This important legislation would do three very, very important but simple things. First, it would establish an office to monitor and combat Islamophobia at the State Department. Second, it would provide the authority to the executive branch to appoint a special envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia. And third, it will help to improve State Department reporting on threats to Muslims around the world. Now, several of my colleagues on the other side have stated that they oppose this bill, that the bill does not define Islamophobia, but I believe, and I think they seem to have an awareness, as we all do, for Islamophobia when they criticize the bill for not doing enough to address Islamophobia against the Uyghur population in China. Madam Speaker, discrimination and bigotry are abhorrent, and combating them is something which we should all be able to do together. That is why I am so heartened to see this important piece of legislation being led by a Muslim Member of Congress and a Jewish Member of Congress. I wish I could say by a Democratic Member of Congress and a Republican Member of Congress. That would be the right message to send to the world. Discrimination and bigotry bring out the worst in humanity. I know that my friend and colleague feels the same way. I know he does, as do many of my colleagues on the other side. But we have to stand up and say it right here on the floor so the world knows what we stand for. If left unchecked, they can lead to terrible atrocities, to crimes against humanity, and even to genocide. So this legislation will help shine a light on this problem and help address the global rise of Islamophobia at a time in which Islamophobia remains rampant. Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage all Members of this House to support this very timely and important bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the great State of Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar), the sponsor of this most timely bill.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the Representative from the great State of Texas (Mr. Green).

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 6256, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, is an opportunity for this body to send a resounding message to the world. We are engaged in a strategic competition with China around the world, and our stance on this issue, I believe, will define why our system is better. We aggressively oppose forced labor and Islamophobia, and we will back up our values with our actions. In this major piece of legislation, we are doing it together, Democrats and Republicans, working with Ranking Member McCaul and others, because it is the right thing to do. It is the right message to send. So let us do it; let us get it out; let us stand tall; let us be true to our values. Let not China get away with Islamophobia. Let's make sure we wipe out Islamophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism from all corners of this place that we call the planet Earth. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1155, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act introduced by my good friend, colleague, and chairman of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern. Let me also thank Speaker Pelosi for bringing this crucial measure to the floor, and her unwavering dedication to human rights issues in China over the course of her public life. This necessary and bold measure reinforces this body's commitment to our values by responding to the PRC's human rights violations and imposing concrete costs on the PRC for the use of Uyghur forced labor. Since 2017, the People's Republic of China has systematically carried out mass detention, torture, political indoctrination, restrictions on religious attractions, and inhumane atrocities against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. We have seen the People's Republic of China expand its extensive program of repression and transform it into a system of state-sponsored forced labor. Under the guise of vocational training or poverty alleviation, authorities in Xinjiang have forced thousands of adults and children to work against their will and under threat of punishment to produce goods and raw materials that are then woven into international supply chains and into our homes. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, it has been conservatively estimated that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between the years of 2017 and 2019, with some of them being sent directly from detention centers. Some analysts estimate that over 100,000 ex-detainees in Xinjiang are working in conditions of forced labor today. I have seen firsthand the benefits of the American companies engaging in China. Most American companies pay above-market wages and have better corporate social responsibility practices than their domestic counterparts. It would be inconsistent with core and crucial American values for this body not to take a stand against forced labor, and to stand up for the persecuted Uyghurs. Many brave companies have already spoken out and made ethical choices detrimental to their bottom line, and this bill ensures that corporate actors that have lived their values are not at a competitive disadvantage in the American marketplace. This bill, which has passed the House before, prohibits the import of goods and merchandise from Xinjiang unless the importer can prove the products did not come from forced labor, imposes sanctions on officials facilitating the use of forced labor against Chinese ethnic minorities, adds important financial disclosures for public companies that do business in the region, and calls for a diplomatic strategy to address forced labor in Xinjiang. This is a straightforward bill. It signals that forced labor has no place on this planet. It signals that products made using forced labor in Xinjiang have no place in the American marketplace. In 2021, for any country to utilize forced labor systematically and to oppress and exploit a population is simply unconscionable. With the passage of this bipartisan measure, the House would hold accountable those responsible for perpetrating these heinous crimes that have irrevocably threatened the lives of over 1.8 million Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and ensure Americans and American companies are not complicit in the Chinese Communist Party's human rights atrocities. This legislation is critical to showing that we are putting human rights at the center of our foreign policy and economic policy. Mr. Speaker, I support and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1155.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I just have these last remarks. I also want to thank Mr. Smith. As indicated by the Speaker, from the time that I have been in Congress, his focus has been on human rights around the world. As the Speaker indicated, and as I indicated with Mr. McCaul and you will see coming up with these other bills, we have worked collectively, leaving politics out of it, focused on leading the world. That is what I look forward to, locking arms, sending that message around the world that we are not going to allow slave labor to flourish and to exist on this planet. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I am happy that this bipartisan effort dealing with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is an opportunity for this body to send a resounding message to the world that we are engaged in a strategic competition with China around the world. And our stance on this issue, I believe, will define why our system is better. But I must reply to some comments. One, the comment that President Biden is holding us up. Well, I am the chair of this committee, he has never told me to hold up anything. In fact, he wants to move forward. In fact, it is President Biden who has sanctioned officials responsible for genocide and issued supply chain advisories in Xinjiang. The fact of the matter is, I think our bill is far superior. You go to the Senate side, the Senate says, this should take 300 days to stop. Our bill says 120 days. For me, this is a personal situation. So I would wish that some of my colleagues who, rightfully, want to make sure that we send a strong message to the world that we are not going to stand for genocide. We are not going to stand for slave labor. But it is best if they would join us about injustice in America. It is best if we fought together to make sure that when President Trump talked about a Muslim ban in the United States of America--that wasn't Joe Biden--we can't do it in America. That is the best way to lead. When we talk about moving, I want to condemn it everywhere. Dr. King said: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We should lead by example collectively. We should lead by going forward with voting rights. We should lead by talking about reparations for those who were enslaved in America. We should lead by talking about the genocide that took place to Native Americans. We should lead by talking about the injustice in housing. We should lead by talking about civil rights. So we have got to come together and stop it everywhere, and that is what this bill does. It sends a strong message. I want to be that example. This just happens to be personal, so I had to say it. I don't like to put politics in these things, but I do like to tell the truth. Mr. Speaker, we have got to work together. I want to thank especially Mr. McCaul. I have got to say this, too, in closing. I have got to say this in closing, because Mr. McCaul is my friend, and we work very closely together. I know his spirit and his heart, and he stands up. I look forward on this committee to continue to do that. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I proudly yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the great State of Virginia (Ms. Wexton).

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 317, as amended.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 317, as amended, condemning the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity being committed against Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups by the People's Republic of China. And I was proud to introduce this resolution alongside my good friend, Ranking Member McCaul, and working collectively with him. Mr. Speaker, I have said previously, and I will say this again, as an African American who has faced the brunt end of injustice for no reason other than the color of my skin and watched my parents suffer, I am very sensitive to the deep wounds of intolerance and oppression that many minority populations endure across the globe. Again, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere'' and ``I refuse to be silent,'' another statement of Dr. King because silence can be complicity. Dr. King called us all to be champions of human rights, not just here in the United States, but wherever human rights are under threat. And we have seen grave human rights abuses in China. In Xinjiang, the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minority groups are subjected to systematic human rights violations that amounts to a genocide and crimes against humanity as defined by the Geneva Convention. The crimes taking place against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang are horrific in their scope and severity. And we know of these atrocities because many survivors began speaking out at great risk to their personal safety and that of their families. They provided firsthand accounts confirming China's targeted campaign of repression. Meanwhile, journalists, scholars, and activists who have tried to uncover what is happening have been targeted and expelled. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has heard harrowing accounts from survivors of mass internment, forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, suppression of religious practices, family separation, sexual abuse, and other inhumane practices. During a hearing on May 6 of this year, survivor Tursunay Ziyawudun ended her testimony by imploring the members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Congress to act. And we are here today to do just that. This resolution unequivocally declares that a genocide is taking place in the Uyghur region. I agree with that declaration and so do many others around the world. This resolution is a clarion call, not just to every nation in the world, but to every person on this planet that the United States Congress will not remain silent, no matter how powerful the perpetrator. We must continue to call out the government of the People's Republic of China for these atrocities and others all over the world and have them take all possible actions to bring this genocide and these crimes against humanity to an end. I say to the world, we are starting with China. We are going all over the world. Human rights are on the front burner in the United States House of Representatives and clearly on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. This is an important resolution. I close by saying I support and am glad to work with the ranking member, Mr. McCaul. Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution. I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank Mr. McCaul for his leadership. It is my pleasure to work with him on this bill to get this to the floor and to pass it on this floor, the people's House, in a bipartisan way, sending a strong message together. That is what this does. So I thank him for his friendship, and I thank him for standing up, as he does, and working together in a bipartisan way. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 317, condemning the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity being committed against the Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups by the People's Republic of China is critical to demonstrating to those suffering in Xinjiang that they haven't been forsaken. And to the government of Beijing, we will speak out when it tramples the universal rights that every human being deserves. It gives me hope that we are not the first parliamentary body that has deemed the PRC's action in Xinjiang a genocide. The parliaments of the U.K., of Canada, of Lithuania, among others, have already taken the right stand. We must support them. We must work with them and multilateral groups. We must encourage other nations and other people to speak out. But I am proud we are speaking out here today in the United States Congress, in the people's House. We will not be silent. Mr. Speaker, I hope that all my colleagues will join me in supporting this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H. Res. 837, as amended, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Beijing should immediately guarantee the safety and the freedom of tennis star Peng Shuai, introduced by the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton). Last month, former Wimbledon women's doubles champion and three-time Olympian Peng Shuai accused former Vice Premier of the State Council Zhang Gaoli of committing sexual assault and forcing her into a sexual relationship. After these groundbreaking allegations were made, the first sexual assault allegation to implicate a high-ranking Chinese official, Peng seemingly vanished into thin air, and China's great firewall went into overdrive, deleting the original post, censoring any mention of Peng's name or discussion of her allegations online. We know that here in America, sexual assault and gender-based violence are serious problems, and it took a movement of brave women and their allies to start changing the conversation around our workplaces and our homes and in our schools and communities. Due to the action of journalists, the tennis community, activists, and social media users across the globe who started to ask about Peng's whereabouts, there has been tremendous attention given to her case. However, I, like many of my colleagues, remain deeply concerned about Peng's whereabouts and well-being. It is vital that we get assurances that Peng is safe and her ability to speak out is not constrained. This important, bipartisan resolution calls for independent and verifiable proof that she is safe and free to make decisions and take actions of her own free will. The accusations of sexual abuse by a former senior official are very serious, and this resolution calls for the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately conduct a formal, transparent, and independent investigation. At a time when we are preparing to send hundreds of American athletes to compete in Beijing's Winter Olympics, this resolution calls on the International Olympic Committee to do more to ensure athlete safety and hold the PRC Government accountable for its actions against Peng. This is timely and is also an urgent resolution. I support it, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. H. Res. 837, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Beijing should immediately guarantee the safety and freedom of tennis star Peng Shuai is a timely and urgent resolution. Peng's whereabouts and safety in China have been in question now for several weeks, and in just over 8 weeks, the Beijing Olympic Games are set to begin. There will be athletes from all over the world in attendance. This body owes it not to just to Peng, but to all the athletes participating in the Olympic Games to demonstrate that we do not take their safety and freedom for granted. The PRC must understand that its diplomatic and economic heft will not allow it to get away scot-free when it silences and erases individuals. While this resolution is about a single athlete, it is really about the innate dignity and freedom of every sexual assault survivor, human rights activist, environmental advocate, artist, journalist, and entrepreneur that has ever been beaten and broken by the Chinese Communist Party. We owe them our voice and our support. Let me, again, thank Congresswoman Wexton and Congressman Waltz for their work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I hope all of my colleagues will join us in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), the sponsor of this bill along with the cosponsor, Mr. Waltz.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 837) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the International Olympic Committee failed to adhere to its own human rights commitments, as amended.