Ed Royce

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2408) to enhance the transparency, improve the coordination, and intensify the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary education for displaced children and persons, including women and girls, and for other purposes.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to recognize Congressman Steve Chabot and Congresswoman Robin Kelly on the Foreign Affairs Committee for their work on this important issue of protecting girls and protecting their access to education, especially in vulnerable settings. We all know that education is a critical driver of upward social mobility for these young girls, for economic growth, for overall stability in terms of a society. As we confront an increasing number of conflicts around this globe, education has got to remain a very key component of U.S. foreign assistance. Around the world today, there are 27 million children who are out of school in conflict zones. Half of all children in refugee camps do not have access to primary education. With many recent conflicts that have lasted, now, a decade, we are now seeing entire generations of children that fail to receive even the most basic education; and even if they are eventually able to return home, they carry back those deficits in terms of what they have not learned, and those deficits can last a lifetime. So this is a humanitarian crisis with real strategic implications. In Syria, for example, an estimated 4 million children are out of school in an environment warped by constant violence. Refugee children outside of Syria are placing tremendous strains on the educational systems, and I have seen this in countries like Jordan, in Lebanon, in Turkey. As we have seen in crisis situations around the world, the lack of stable educational opportunities make these children more vulnerable: more vulnerable, especially for girls, to exploitation; more vulnerable, especially for boys, to radicalization. Girls face unique barriers to education in conflict zones. In these afflicted countries, girls are 2\1/2\ times more likely than young boys to be out of school. They frequently encounter cultural barriers that prevent them from seeking an education, and they often lack safe routes to that little school and back home from that school. Promoting girls' access to education reduces their risk of falling victim to gender-based violence or to early marriage or to human trafficking. It is also the just thing to do. H.R. 2408, the Protecting Girls' Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act, authorizes the State Department and authorizes USAID to enhance existing education programs for displaced children and to especially be engaged with girls. The bill calls on the State Department and USAID to coordinate efforts with the private sector as well, with civil society groups, with multilateral organizations, to collect relevant data to improve the effectiveness of these programs that we are engaged in. Finally, the bill would require that the State Department and the USAID include data on education programs for displaced children in any report to Congress on disaster relief and recovery efforts so that we are aware that they are engaged in addressing this issue. We must strengthen the role of education in humanitarian assistance. Refugees and other displaced persons live on a knife edge of despair. Without access to education, children in conflict zones, especially girls, are more exposed to violence, to exploitation, and even to radicalization. By helping to realize their innate potential, education gives these children hope, hope for today, and it gives them critical skills for tomorrow so that they can contribute to their homes, their communities, and so that they can contribute to the next generation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In summing up here, the focus of this legislation is clearly to seek to end a practice which many in the international community find a vexing one, and that is it tries to ensure that the loans that are given to the Government of Nicaragua meet certain democratic benchmarks before issuing any loans that would specifically benefit those in the government. There is a carve-out, as I shared, for any humanitarian loans. I think the reason this approach has gained bipartisan support is because the United States, in this instance, will be engaged still, but engaged in a way where we are not encouraging corruption. I say that because it pushes Nicaragua to allow for free and transparent elections, and that should be our goal. That is the goal of other election observers who have been involved in the past and have expressed their concerns about the state of play there. Mr. Speaker, I thank the authors, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important, when we consider the challenge that we have here, the Carter Center was involved in Nicaragua trying to oversee the election there. They came to the conclusion that the election was not transparent. The elections were not fair in Nicaragua. The European Union was engaged in trying to monitor those elections. Again, the same conclusion. The Organization of American States, it is the standard or it is the organization representing all of the governments in this hemisphere, they again raised the same issue. When we think what we are trying to do here, the goal is, first, any loans that go to the benefit of the people of Nicaragua, that is exempt anyway. From the humanitarian standpoint, we want them to have the loans. But if we are going to make a loan that benefits the head of state or the government and, as part of that, we put the same conditions that the OAS puts on member loans, the same conditions that we put on other countries with respect to the rule of law or with respect to transparency and free and fair elections, I don't think that that is unusual in the least. As a matter of fact, those are the conditions we apply. The attempt to focus on this and our frustration with it is to give that added boost, just as the Carter Center is trying to do, just as the European Union is trying to weigh in, just as the OAS is suggesting as we go forward that there be these reforms and transparency. I think it is proper that this institution does the same. I think the carve-out we put in the bill for humanitarian aid addresses the other issues. So from that standpoint, I think it is necessary for us to do what we can at this time to nudge this back toward free and fair elections.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the world has watched with great concern, with mounting horror, actually, as Venezuela suffers economic ruin amid a potential crisis that has eroded democracy, and that threatens to destabilize the region. Meanwhile, less noticed, Nicaragua continues to violate the region's democratic values by failing to conduct fair and transparent elections and by denying Nicaraguans freedom of expression and freedom of association. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the leadership of chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen; and the chairman and ranking member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Mr. Duncan; and the ranking member, Mr. Sires, in bringing this measure to the floor. This legislation will require U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to use the vote and influence of the United States to oppose any loans to Nicaragua unless the country has shown a willingness to respect the human and democratic rights of its citizens. Nicaragua's authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, and that's the same Daniel Ortega who lost the Presidency in 1990, has tightened his grip on power by weakening government institutions and the opposition and ensuring power for himself and his family by excluding international election observers. By requiring that the Secretary of State certify that Nicaragua has taken steps to provide election transparency and combat corruption before the United States votes to provide the Government of Nicaragua with loans, we help ensure that taxpayer money is not used to line the pockets of corrupt authoritarians, or to derail the legitimate democratic rights of the Nicaraguan citizens. We need only to look to Venezuela to see that the consolidation of state power and organized crime and corruption actually go hand in hand. As a region, we must stand in strong opposition to authoritarianism and corruption in Nicaragua, while not punishing the people of Nicaragua. And it is this point of not punishing the people of Nicaragua that also we have to include in this measure; and for that reason, and because of this, the authors of the bill have insured a carve-out, and that carve-out exempts all loans that are for humanitarian purposes. So this bill stands squarely with the people of Nicaragua and their hopes for freedom and democracy and the rule of law. Its passage is just one way that we can demonstrate this support. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC, October 3, 2017. Hon. Ed Royce, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing concerning H.R. 1918, the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017, as amended. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee on Financial Services concerning provisions in the bill that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction, I agree to forgo action on the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House Floor. The Committee on Financial Services takes this action with our mutual understanding that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1918, as amended, at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that our Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar legislation moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues that fall within our Rule X 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 requests your support for any such request. Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 1918, as amended, 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, Jeb Hensarling, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, and is the author of this legislation.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1141) to ensure that the United States promotes the meaningful participation of women in mediation and negotiation processes seeking to prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, whether we are talking about Liberia, or Northern Ireland, or anywhere else where this world is in conflict, we have watched women play pivotal roles in advocating before governments, or before combatants, or in front of politicians, to bring an end to conflict. In recent years, we have seen armed conflicts flare around the world, producing the largest number of refugees that we have ever seen on record. Efforts to negotiate an end to these conflicts are more important than they have ever been. We know that when women are included in these discussions, we are more likely to see an enduring peace as a result. As a witness at our hearing on women's participation explained to us, including women is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. The legislation before us today will strengthen U.S. efforts to promote the inclusion of women in peace negotiations in order to create more sustainable agreements and more stable partners for the United States and for our allies. Again, I want to thank Representatives Noem and Schakowsky and the bill's Senate sponsors for their bipartisan work on this measure; and, as always, Ranking Member Engel, for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1141. Now, this is the Women, Peace, and Security Act. This is the Senate companion to the bill H.R. 2484 that the House passed earlier this session. That bill was authored by Representatives Kristi Noem and Jan Schakowsky, and I want to thank them; and I, of course, want to thank, also, Ranking Member Engel. I want to thank them collectively for their leadership on this important issue. I also want to thank Senators Corker, Cardin, Shaheen, and Capito for working so well with us in the Senate. I want to thank our assistant staff director, Jessica Kelch. I want to thank her for her essential work on this important legislation. I am happy to say that, with House passage today, this legislation will go to the President's desk. As I noted when this bill passed the House in June, this moment is really a culmination of years of bipartisan work by Members of Congress, including Jan Schakowsky and Kristi Noem. It is also the work of prior and current administration officials and the many advocates who want to see better, more sustainable solutions to ending wars, to combating terrorism, and to improving human rights around the world. What we are saying today is that women's participation is essential to confronting these fundamental challenges. Last Congress, the Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing, part of its series of women in foreign affairs, where we heard powerful testimony about the importance of including women in the peace processes around the world. It is an obvious point that many are aware of that, without the participation of women, peace would not have come to Northern Ireland in those discussions nor would the peace have held. So now it may seem obvious that women should have an opportunity to represent their communities as a matter of right; they make up half the population. And what negotiation or agreement can claim to represent women if their very participation is barred? But our hearing also emphasized why women's participation in the peace processes is important if we care about the likelihood of the success of that process. Simply put, when women are at the negotiation table, peace is more likely. Compelling research shows that peace agreements are likely to be reached and are likely to last when women's groups are meaningfully involved. Women peacemakers often press warring parties to move beyond mere power-sharing agreements, which benefit only a small percentage of fighters, to more comprehensive and longer term accords, which benefit the civilian population as a whole, which benefits the next generation of that country. We have seen this play out. We saw it play out, as I said, in Northern Ireland. We saw it play out in Colombia; we saw it in Rwanda; we saw it in Sri Lanka, where women's groups have pushed for practical solutions to deescalate and resolve the conflict. In fact, later today, I will be speaking with Liberia's President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whom I am proud to call a friend of many, many years. Of course, President Sirleaf and the women of Liberia represent what can be accomplished when women become involved in ending conflict. After many failed attempts by politicians, combatants, and the international community, it was the women of Liberia who forged an end to one of West Africa's longest running and most brutal conflicts. We must learn from history. Efforts to ``keep the peace'' through policing and peacekeeping missions also benefit from women's participation, which leads to better crime reporting and higher levels of trust within the communities they serve. And women are essential to confronting one of the greatest national security threats of our time: the spread of violent extremism around the world. When we look at who confronts jihadists and who teaches their children--if they have access to education, they can teach their children--women are truly on the front lines of this fight. They often possess unique insights into their families and communities and are capable of gathering information that men cannot, yet their input is frequently overlooked. We must acknowledge women as partners in this fight, and that is why the legislation before us today recognizes that it is in our national interest to promote women's participation in resolving violence and conflict. This concept has been building support for some time: the Bush administration pressed hard for women's participation in peace negotiations and the political process in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and elsewhere; the Obama administration expanded on these programs to require a governmentwide approach to women's inclusion in conflict resolution overseas; and the current administration has said that the State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues will continue to focus on these issues. I am eager to see an Ambassador nominated to lead that office. The bipartisan legislation before us today builds on these efforts. It will continue to require a governmentwide strategy to promote women's participation, along with specific goals and benchmarks and reporting to Congress in order to gauge progress. And it also requires that appropriate State, USAID, and Defense Department personnel receive training in how to facilitate women's participation in conflict resolution, security initiatives, and efforts to protect civilians from violence and from exploitation. I urge all Members to support passage today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2061) to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel, also for his work on the original bill. For a number of years, we have been focused in a bipartisan way, those of us who are concerned about human rights in North Korea. This is the reauthorization, but the original measure was to promote human rights and free information inside North Korea, and to focus on the protection of North Koreans who have fled the country and face a heightened risk of exploitation and human trafficking. We have been able to work on enforcement, but now with reauthorization, there is a chance to update it. Those updates in H.R. 2061 not only reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act, but there are these promising new technological advances to pierce the information darkness, as Mr. Ted Yoho mentioned. That darkness is maintained intentionally by Kim Jong-un's regime. Confronted by a rapidly nuclearizing North Korea, these tools are more important than ever. Rather than putting all of his energy into menacing the world, as he does with his nuclear program, Kim Jong-un must be confronted with the urgent needs, with the legitimate aspirations of the people of North Korea. There are 120,000 of his people that are in what we call these gulags across North Korea. Without reforms, these individuals are never going to see the light of day, they are never going to be released to freedom. This critical bipartisan bill deserves our unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me point out that the world is rightly focused on the threat that North Korea poses to global security--the detonations, the missile launches, the forward-deployed artillery--that we have seen from across the border in South Korea. I have been once to North Korea. I know my colleague, Eliot Engel, has been twice to the capital there. But going along the eastern coast--the eastern seaboard into North Korea--you can see the threat. You can see the artillery--the tanks, the Katyusha rockets, and the howitzers lined up--and you can see where they are aimed. I think we have to maybe point out that the provocations underscore a simple, jarring fact, and that is that Kim Jong-un wants to pose a mortal threat, and not just to the United States, but to our democratic treaty allies--to South Korea and to Japan. But I think, as we face that reality, we cannot afford to forget that the regime's greatest victims are the people of North Korea themselves. That is the longest held hostage here. And remembering that this is not just a moral imperative, but, also, it is a strategic one, too. If Kim Jong-un had to answer to the North Korean people, he would pose far less a danger to us, to South Korea, and to Japan. Maybe he would pose no danger whatsoever if he really had to answer to his own people. The truth is that Kim Jong-un's most potent enemy is his own citizens, if they were to be empowered. The regime should be forced to confront the dismal reality that it has inflicted on its own population. Obsessed not just with self-preservation, but also with his concept of reunification of the peninsula--based on the words he uses-- under his own leadership, he and his father and his father's father have been willing to inflict starvation and stunting. I asked Hwang Jang-yop, the former minister of propaganda--myself and one of my colleagues here had asked him--and he said that 2 million people had been starved by the regime. He said the real number was 1.9 million. And he said: You have to understand, we put all the resources into the weapons program, into the ICBM program, and into the nuclear capability. People fend for themselves basically. That is the system there. And when he defected, the propaganda minister shared that with us. In the meantime, you will notice that there is one man in that system that feasts on imported luxuries and on liquor, and that is the deity himself. That is Kim Jong-un. The bonds of public affection for Kim certainly are strong in the capital, but, in the countryside, those who have defected tell me that they are so fragile that they can only be maintained with purges, with public executions, and with deadly prison camps. It is no wonder, then, that the regime's harshest critics are escaped North Koreans who have seen through the wall of misinformation that Kim Jong-un works so hard to maintain. We have heard, time and again, from North Korean refugees about the indelible impact of real information from the outside world, whether it be defector broadcasts or pirated South Korean TV dramas set in the affluent bustling metropolis of Seoul. Just last month, I was discussing these issues in Seoul with Thae Yong-ho, the highest ranking North Korean defector. The minister is the former ambassador to the U.K. Many of you read about his defection there in Britain. He is now in Seoul. He emphasized that such knowledge undermines the lie that North Korea is a worker's paradise and that it is the envy of the world. Increasingly, he says, for 30-some dollars, a village or a family can purchase a device that plays these dramas from South Korea that come in from the porous border with China, and, as a result of that, they learn more. And, frankly, I will say that as a result of the two different organizations of defectors from North Korea who broadcast on shortwave, people are learning more as well. Our problem is that it needs to be broadcast beyond just the area around the border. We need to figure out how to help others hear the truth. So, today, harnessing the power of information and public expectations inside North Korea is more important than ever. Along with enhanced sanctions on the regime's enablers, this is critical. It is a critical nonmilitary tool because it confronts the growing North Korean threat to our safety with a very different methodology by educating and empowering North Koreans themselves. This bill, H.R. 2061, does not merely reauthorize activities under the North Korean Human Rights Act, but it enacts important updates to freedom-of-information authorities, to reflect technological advances beyond radio broadcasting, including USB drives, mobile devices, and other very promising tools. It also renews the obligations of the special envoy for North Korean human rights. Finally, the bill enhances congressional oversight tools to help ensure that our investments stand the best chance of paying dividends in freedom for North Korea, and greater security for the rest of the world will be the result of this. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for authoring this bill. I also thank our ranking member, Eliot Engel, for his work on this issue. And I thank the chair and ranking member of our Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee as well, Ted Yoho and Brad Sherman. The gentlewoman from Florida is tireless in her defense of human rights and has been a legislative leader on North Korea for more than a decade. I am a proud cosponsor of this excellent bill, which deserves our unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Among a number of amendments that he has contributed to this bill, there is one in particular that I think is very important, and that is increasing the number of tools that can be used here, to include new technologies to North Korea, like USB drives. It is a lot easier for people to watch on USB drives as well as, of course, mobile phones and DVDs.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), an esteemed member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the primary cosponsor of this resolution.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. The first point I would make is I think our ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel, makes a very strong point about the importance of engagement. I think, as a second point, U.S.-ASEAN engagement has trended up in recent years. I think it remains strong. I think it has a bright outlook. In 2015, the U.S.-ASEAN relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership, an important step by the U.S. 2016 marked two important firsts: the first U.S.-ASEAN summit at Sunnylands, and the first ever visit of a sitting U.S. President to Laos. As an important economic and security partner, ASEAN shares the U.S. pursuit of regional stability through rules, through order, through the peaceful dispute settlement process, as our ranking member pointed out. This resolution signals our resolve to maintain and deepen our collaboration with our friends and allies in Southeast Asia. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues here to join us in support of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Congressman Joaquin Castro and Congresswoman Ann Wagner for introducing this timely measure. This is an important but, frankly, often overlooked part of the world. This is Southeast Asia. Mr. Speaker, Southeast Asian nations came together 50 years ago to promote regional cooperation. Their goal was to achieve greater stability and peace and prosperity by creating the Association of South East Asian Nations. We know this as ASEAN today. This year marks their 50th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of relations between the United States and ASEAN. This year, President Trump will visit the region for the first time in November for the East Asia and ASEAN summits in the Philippines, and the local leadership are going to be meeting in Vietnam. Today, ASEAN is a force for peace and prosperity in the world, and the relationship the U.S. has with ASEAN has benefited both sides diplomatically, economically, and in global security. ASEAN is the fourth largest goods export market for the United States, and we are ASEAN's fourth largest trading partner. As the second fastest-growing economy in Asia, with a combined economy of $2.5 trillion, the importance of the ASEAN market for the United States is considerable. Mr. Speaker, we are working with ASEAN to address security challenges and threats, especially in the fight against terrorism, with the recognition now of the emergence of ISIS fighting forces in the region. Last month, Secretary of State Tillerson voiced support for increased cooperation on border security, information sharing to track individuals, and routing out and finding the source of terror financing networks, finding their safe havens. With so many challenges in the region today, as we look at the democratic backsliding in Cambodia, the plight of the Rohingya in Burma, it is more important than ever that we engage Southeast Asian nations in the ASEAN grouping to solve regional problems. We must also cooperate with ASEAN on the threat of North Korea and have better coordination on maritime activities with regard to security, environmental impact, and border and fishing regulations. For all of these reasons today, the House of Representatives reaffirms the importance of the U.S.-ASEAN partnership and recommits to continuing engagement and cooperation. Passage of this resolution demonstrates our support for ASEAN as an institution and the United States' strategic relationship with Southeast Asian nations. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 311) recognizing that for 50 years the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has worked toward stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.