Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, with the recent largest-ever homicide spike in the history of our Nation, our first responders and law enforcement officers are facing unprecedented threats on the job at severe staff shortages as they are simultaneously met with radical calls by some to ``abolish the police.'' These men and women of extraordinary courage who take the risks, sweat the details, and face danger each and every day in order to ensure public safety not only deserve our gratitude and respect but also robust support from Congress to assist them in keeping our communities safe. The brave officers we remember this Police Week--and always--remind us of the increasingly dangerous job our men and women in blue so courageously perform--some paying the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their community. In the Fourth Congressional District of New Jersey, we specifically remember Officer Joseph William Goertz, of the Lakewood Township Police Department, Officer Joseph Charles Capriotti, of the Middletown Police Department, and Officer Matthew Scott Horton, of the Ocean County Sheriffs Office. Mr. Speaker, those who commit violent acts against police and others, as well as those who destroy property and steal, should be prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law. As a lawmaker, I've written many laws to combat crime and assist victims and strongly opposed recent legislation in Congress to eviscerate ``qualified immunity'' for law enforcement. Qualified immunity--a judicially created legal doctrine-- shields government officials, including law enforcement, from personal liability lawsuits so long as their actions do not violate ``clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.'' According to the Congressional Research Service, ``The Supreme Court has observed that qualified immunity balances two important interests-- the need to hold public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield officials from harassment, distraction and liability when they perform their duties reasonably.'' As recently as last Congress, Democrats introduced a bill that would end qualified immunity and states in pertinent part that ``It shall not be a defense or immunity in any action brought under this section against a local law enforcement officer. . .'' even if ``. . .the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that his or her conduct was lawful at the time when the conduct was committed. . .'' If this section became law, it would likely result in a flood of legal actions--an engraved invitation to sue law enforcement officers. Moreover, it will deter police from using force where the use of force is necessary to save life or protect property--diminishing the ability of police to provide public safety in dangerous situations. As an elected official, words are inadequate to convey the gratitude and respect that I and the vast majority in the community have for you and your families.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 90, calling for the immediate release of U.S. Citizen Mark Swidan, whose wrongful and arbitrary detention by the Chinese Communist authorities, without ever having had a chance at a fair trial, is unconscionable. Just two weeks ago, the PRC Jiangmen Intermediate Court denied Mr. Swidan's appeal. He remains on death row, with a two-year suspended death sentence. Moreover, I and my colleagues are very concerned at the condition in which Mr. Swidan is being held. He is being denied needed medical care and is cut off from receiving mail from loved ones in a timely manner. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has expressed ``grave concern'' over the severity of Mr. Swidan's sentence, and has catalogued the step-by-step denial of justice that has accompanied Mr. Swidan's arbitrary detention: ``it is evident that Mr. Swidan has been unable to defend himself properly, as he has been subjected to a detention of extraordinary length, to ill-treatment and to coercion with the purpose of extracting a confession and as he has received ineffective legal assistance.'' The Working Group has therefore called for the only just resolution of this case: ``release Mr. Swidan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.'' We also must redouble our efforts to release of US citizens Kai Li and David Lin, who are wrongful detainees, as well as Chinese nationals who are imprisoned because of their connection to the United States, such as Ekpar Asat, who was jailed because he participated in the State Department's International Visitor's Leadership Program, and Gulshan Abbas, who was interned because of her sister Rushan's intrepid reporting at Radio Free Asia, and her testimony before Congress and elsewhere. At the end of the day these individuals are hostages held by a hostile regime. Their freedom must be prioritized and raised in all our State Department's interactions with PRC officials. Please join me in supporting this resolution, and in calling for Mark Swidan's immediate release.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendment and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, like canaries in coal mines, the recent spate of tragic whale and dolphin deaths and a well-founded suspicion that geophysical surveys, including the use of sonar may be a contributing cause, has brought new light and increased scrutiny to the fast-tracking of approximately 3,400 offshore wind turbines covering 2.4 million acres by 2030, more after that by 2040--all embedded into the ocean floor by massive pile drivers--in the North Atlantic Planning Area that includes New Jersey's coast. The offshore wind industrialization approval process has left unaddressed and unanswered numerous serious questions concerning the potentially harmful environmental impact on whales, marine life, and the ecosystems that currently allow all sea creatures great and small to thrive. Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, pointed out in testimony at a field hearing chaired by my good friend and colleague, Jeff Van Drew, that the National Marine Fisheries Service has said, ``Offshore wind is a new use of our marine waters, requiring substantial scientific and regulatory review.'' So she asks: So, where is the substantial review? My amendment, Mr. Chair, requires the U.S. Government Accountability Office, or GAO, to investigate the sufficiency of the environmental review process for offshore wind projects of the Marine Fisheries Service, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and any other relevant Federal agency.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific and is the author of this important legislation.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1107) to direct the Secretary of State to take certain actions with respect to the labeling of the People's Republic of China as a developing country, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the United States and other developed nations of the world need to stop underwriting the belligerent expansion of the Chinese Communist Party's influence around the world. Since 1978, the economy of the People's Republic of China has reportedly grown 9 percent a year on average. Today, the PRC is the world's second-largest economy and is a top goods exporter. Look at our balance of trade. Its outward direct investment exceeds that of 32 of the 36 OECD countries, and China's defense expenditures and number of satellites in space are second in the world, only behind the United States. That is why it is ridiculous that the PRC is still considered a developing country by international financial institutions, or IFIs, and in various treaty provisions intended to benefit genuinely poor nations. That designation allows the PRC to pay less in United Nations dues and assessments; it allows them to avoid stricter requirements in certain environmental agreements; and it allows the PRC to get preferential loans from international financial institutions, which the PRC then uses to offer predatory and unfair loans to actual developing countries, countries such as Sri Lanka, Djibouti, and Uganda, which have been placed into debt bondage by the PRC, often accompanied by bribery and corruption of local officials. This is just one way the PRC distorts the global economy through unfair trade and lending practices while hurting countries that are actually still genuinely developing. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from California, Young Kim, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, for introducing this bill. It is smart, targeted legislation. I thank Gerry Connolly for his chief cosponsorship, as well. This legislation clearly states that the PRC is no longer a developing country and that the United States should seek to ensure that any future treaties, conventions, or organizations we are a part of do not treat the PRC as one. The world must stop allowing the PRC to siphon benefits from other nations by taking advantage of an outdated and inaccurate developing country status. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, March 23, 2023. Hon. Jason Smith, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Smith: Thank you for agreeing to forgo pursuing a sequential referral of H.R. 1107, the ``PRC is Not a Developing Country Act,'' so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. As requested, the Committee on Ways and Means has been added as a recipient of the report required by this bill. I agree that your forgoing action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I urge unanimous support by this body for this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1154) to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs, and for other purposes.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, every year under General Secretary Xi Jinping and his Chinese Communist Party, between 60,000 to 100,000 young victims, average age 28, are murdered in cold blood to steal their organs. These crimes against humanity are unimaginably cruel. Ethnic groups targeted for this mass harvesting include Uyghurs who suffer from Xi Jinping's ongoing genocide and the Falun Gong, whose peaceful meditation and exercise practices and exceptional good health make their organs highly desirable. The Chinese Communist Party has declared them to be an evil cult fit for butchering. Mr. Speaker, in May of last year, I chaired an absolutely chilling congressional hearing at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission titled ``Forced Organ Harvesting in China: Examining the Evidence.'' The China Tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice--and this is the man who prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a tribunal that I worked very hard on and was very supportive of, as were other Members of this body-- conducted the world's first independent legal analysis of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China. Sir Geoffrey Nice testified at my hearing and said, ``Forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale,'' and he said that ``. . . Falun Gong practitioners have been one--and probably the main--source of organ supply.'' He said the Falun Gong and the Uyghurs in the PRC each qualify as a ``group'' for purposes of the crime of genocide. Ethan Gutmann, Senior Research Fellow in China Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, testified that the Kilgour-Matas-Gutmann report of 2016 estimated China's total transplant volume--this is forced transplantations--at 60,000 to 100,000 annually. Mr. Gutmann also pointed out ``. . . at any given time since 2017, there are approximately a million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Hui in the camps.'' These are the concentration camps, of course, made up mostly of Muslims. He said his estimate is that 25,000 to 50,000 camp detainees are being harvested every year. Again, he says 28-year-olds from the Xinjiang camps can be harvested for two or three organs each, translating into a maximum of about 150,000 organs. Another expert witness who testified at our hearing, Matthew Robertson of the Australian National University, coauthored with Dr. Jacob Lavee an examination of Chinese medical journal articles and found that ``71 papers gave explicit descriptions of surgeons appearing to violate the dead donor rule while procuring hearts from prisoners. In plain language, the papers appear to show that the donors, who were prisoners, were alive at the time of surgery and were killed by transplant surgeons in the process of heart extraction.'' Their work, published last April in a top peer-reviewed U.S. medical journal, ``The American Journal of Transplantation'' provided additional evidence of the People's Republic of China's egregious practices and violation of international standards. These are, again, crimes against humanity. Robert Destro, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor testified that, ``The size and scope of the organ harvesting and organ trafficking market are staggering.'' Mr. Speaker, we also know through open-source Chinese language media that elderly, high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials have received replacement organs from the very people they despise, like the Falun Gong, like the Uyghurs. There is one particular hospital, Army Hospital 301 in Beijing, that excels at this. While this still shocks me, and I know it shocks my colleagues, I cannot say it surprises me. Almost 25 years ago, I chaired a hearing. Doug Anderson, who is sitting right here, was a part of that hearing as the top staff on the committee. I chaired a human rights hearing with a Chinese security officer who testified that he and other security agents were executing patients with the doctors right there with ambulances ready to harvest their organs after the bullets were fired. Indeed, at last year's hearing, we produced a doctor who testified that he had performed one such surgery on a victim--he was forced to, he claimed--a botched execution who as he began cutting discovered that the victim was in a state of shock--he wasn't dead yet--a live vivisection on a living human being. He has nightmares to this day. To combat these heinous and inhumane practices, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, a bipartisan piece of legislation, amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require reports on forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs in foreign countries, including and especially in China; and the imposition of serious sanctions on any person the President determines funds, sponsors or otherwise facilitates forced organ harvesting or trafficking for purposes of the removal of organs. What does that mean? It means civil penalties up to $250,000 and criminal penalties including a fine of up to $1 million and imprisonment for not more than 20 years or both. So we are serious about sanctioning this egregious practice. Sanctions also include blocking and prohibiting all transactions in property and interests in property and making such persons inadmissible to the United States and ineligible to receive a visa. State-sponsored forced organ harvesting is big business for Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party and shows absolutely no signs of abating, which is why we and the rest of the world need to step up, particularly the democracies of this world. We must act, and we must act decisively. I thank Chairman McCaul for his cosponsorship and his tremendous leadership on this bill, as well as Ranking Member Meeks for his strong support. I also thank our Democratic cosponsor, Bill Keating, as well as Kathy Manning, for their strong support and cosponsorship of this legislation. I extend a very special thanks to Mary Vigil; Janice Kaguyutan, who is sitting over here on my right on the Democrat side; Piero Tozzi, who is the staff director for the China Commission of which I am the chairman; and Doug Anderson, who has done a wonderful job throughout all of this; and Mary McDermott Noonan, my chief of staff, all who have worked so diligently in such a cooperative and bipartisan way to bring this piece of legislation to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, March 17, 2023. Hon. Jim Jordan, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1154, the ``Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023,'' so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation. I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. I thank Ms. Wild for her strong support and for her wonderful and strong remarks today in favor of this bipartisan legislation. I do believe that we are really at a point now where if not us, who? We need to speak, and we need to speak boldly. This legislation, again, was crafted across the aisle. We have worked very closely together on it. I believe this legislation will make a huge difference. Not so long ago I was in the intensive care unit. I am fine now, but when I was lying there, I kept thinking about this bill and some poor 28-year-old in the People's Republic of China who is not there being treated in a benign way by doctors and nurses but is being strapped down--not always anesthetized sufficiently--to steal their organs and to kill them. It is happening--as I indicated earlier, and this is a very reliable number--between 60 to 100,000 times against 60 to 100,000 20-year-olds each and every year. This is Nazi-like. Xi Jinping needs to be held accountable. The fact that he and the high officials of the Chinese Communist Party are benefiting not just with unbelievable amounts of money for the Chinese Communist Party and for them personally, but also, if they need any organ, they turn to the very people that they hate, especially Falun Gong and Muslim Uyghurs, in order to procure their organs. This must get strong support from this body, strong support from the Senate, and I believe it will be signed by the President if we can get it to his desk. We need to make a difference. Again, I urge Members to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, first of all, let me thank Chairwoman Virginia Foxx for the extraordinary job she is doing on this important parental rights legislation, H.R. 5. I thank my friend from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for this civil debate. It has been disciplined. Obviously, we have a major fundamental difference, but there is respect on both sides. Mr. Chairman, last month, Adriana Olivia Kuch, a student at Central Regional High School, in my congressional district, tragically took her own life just days after a group of students violently attacked her in the school hallway and then shared the video of the horrific assault online. Adriana's family told the Asbury Park Press that she ``took her own life after being threatened online, attacked on school grounds, and then later harassed when video of the attack was spread via social media.'' My amendment today, Mr. Chairman, would add to the bill's disclosure requirement of violent incidences a provision that schools notify parents of whether recordings exist of such violence. The amendment recognizes that bullying and violence are often compounded, and the victim further traumatized, further humiliated, and further mocked, when the crime is videotaped and shared on social media. Once informed, the parents are empowered to, hopefully, be better able to shield, to better comfort, and to protect their child. This amendment is a step in the right direction of what must be a full-court press to tackle online bullying. Many school districts, as my colleagues already know, do have harassment, intimidation, and bullying, or HIB policies, which should include parental notification of online bullying occurrences. What happened in the Central Regional High School must never happen again. There must be no higher priority for us than school safety and protecting every student from violence. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, after the terrible incident and the loss of this young woman, there were meetings with the school board, and the number of students who came forward who talked about the bullying and the videotaping of bullying that happens, and how threatened they feel, it seems to me, out of an abundance of caution and respect and concern for the well-being of these individuals, these young people, having the school leaders step up and say we know of a video recording, we have got to make sure the parents know. That young woman, in this case, sitting in her room watching the video over and over again, and all the extreme mockings that she endured, that may have driven her to suicide. We don't know absolutely, but we do know that it has a very debilitating impact on a young person to see all of that. I watched the video, Mr. Chairman, and I was moved to see her on the ground, being kicked and punched. Again, there was a video of this. So many of the parents have no idea. They don't monitor social media necessarily. Why not have the school leaders make sure that that is transferred over to the parents, so they can step in and love their child and try to protect their child from all the psychological and other harms that accrue from that video. This is a simple amendment, and I would hope that my colleagues would vote for it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, more than a century ago, a group of enterprising self-starters, inspired by the beauty around them, began plans to build a park on the Barnegat Barrier Island in Ocean County. Although the harsh barrier beach sand precluded their dream of building a park, their desire to create a strong, spirited community centered around the island's natural charm succeeded with the founding of the Borough of Seaside Park exactly 125 years ago today on March 9, 1898. Throughout this coming year, the residents of Seaside Park are celebrating their 125th anniversary--a remarkable occasion for a thriving community that has accomplished so much over the years and has never lost its beauty or charm while proving to be incredibly resilient in the face of some unfathomable challenges. Today, the borough is guided by the outstanding leadership of Mayor John Peterson, Jr.--who has served for a total of more than 15 years-- and the diligent members of the borough council: President Matthew DeMichele, Frank ``Fritz'' McHugh, Gina Condos, Ray Amabile, Marty Wilk, Jr., and William Kraft. The Seaside Park community has so much to be proud of as they continue to build on their profound legacy as a community of neighbors who care for each other, warmly welcome tourists and visitors, and cherish the natural beauty of their area. A life-long resident of Seaside Park and true steward of its breathtaking beaches, Mayor Peterson has embodied the spirit of Seaside and has been outspoken about the dangerous threat posed by the enormous and rushed offshore wind projects to the Jersey Shore, our local environment, the livelihood of local fishermen and the tourism that is the lifeblood of the region. His deep care for the people and our community-wide love for the environment will help ensure Seaside Park continues to prosper well into the future. Seeing its enormous success today, it's important to note that Seaside Park had a very modest beginning--established first with only a small year-round population. Reportedly, residents hauled sand to build the first roads in the early days of the borough, and many families raised cattle, horses and chickens. Just a year after its founding, Seaside Park Union Church--then known as ``Chapel by the Sea'' was built, soon followed by St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. Several markets, five movie theaters, a furniture showroom, an automobile dealership and a blacksmith were the foundation of the town's commercial activity, and a small room over Franklin Harris' General Store on Third and Central Avenues was used as the first classroom for students before a one-story schoolhouse was built in 1902. Seaside Park's Life Saving Service--established in 1872--played a significant role in the development of the barrier island with stations located nearly every three miles from Barnegat Inlet northward. These buildings later became Coast Guard stations upon the creation of the service in 1915, and most of them still exist and are used today for other purposes. In 1913, Seaside Park's volunteer fire department was founded, and its company built their first vehicle--a horse drawn hose truck. The large iron gong that alerted volunteers of an emergency sits outside the firehouse at the Municipal Complex to this very day. Undoubtedly, the extraordinary spirit that moved the founders of Seaside Park to build such a close-knit community on this beautiful island continues to sustain its residents, who have overcome unimaginable trials with incredible fortitude in recent years. Just a decade ago, Superstorm Sandy devastated Seaside Park, forcing families to abandon their homes that bore the brunt of the historic storm's wrath. Less than a year later, a raging fire caused by a wire damaged from the storm's intense flooding engulfed several blocks of boardwalk that had been finally rebuilt. Not too long after, Seaside Park came under attack in 2016 when a terrorist inspired by ISIS and Al Qaeda detonated a bomb along the route of the Seaside Semper Five Marine Corps Charity 5k race. Fortunately, no one was injured--but the shocking explosion on the streets of this small town shook the community, which had suffered three losses in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Through all these tribulations and more, the residents of Seaside Park have bounced back with great strength and unbelievable resilience. Despite the years, the storms and even the terrorist threat, their incredible tenacity and enduring perseverance--which is the very foundation of their storied beginning--offers great promise for the future of this vibrant community for decades to come.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for offering this very important and very timely resolution. It asks many of the tough questions that have to be asked, and we need answers. Mr. Speaker, journalist Paul Bedard wrote an incisive article on February 3 entitled: ``Dry run: Balloons called top `delivery platform' for nuclear EMP attack.'' It points out that, obviously, the grid would be fried; we would be unable to do just about anything. Here is a balloon going over our military installations, including our ICBM base, with the capability to launch an EMP attack. Did we know it? Did it have such a payload? We have no idea. Let me also say surveillance was at a minimum what was happening. It should have been shot down much sooner over the Aleutian Islands in a way that would have just stopped this unbelievable breach of U.S. sovereignty. He quotes in this article a man by the name of David Stuckenberg, who is an EMP expert, and he says: ``A high altitude balloon could be designed, created, and launched in a matter of months.'' And that is what they did. ``There is nothing to prevent several hundred pounds of weapons material from being delivered'' from that altitude. He talks about the flyover as being a dry run. They are testing us, and we did not rise to that challenge. Let me say to my friends and colleagues: The militaristic aspirations of the PRC and Xi Jinping are global. He watches his enemies, obviously, in the region, but he looks at the entire world, and he has a multi-year plan for conquest. Finally, I have chaired 76 congressional hearings on human rights abuses in China. I am barred from going there by the CCP. Xi Jinping and the CCP systematically murder, jail, torture, persecute, and commit genocide against their own citizens. As we all know, it does pose an existential threat to its neighbors in the region and to the United States. We need to up our game and mitigate the threat to our own people. Americans deserve better, and this resolution is asking the tough questions so that happens.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, two women spoke at a pregnancy care center dinner I attended in New Jersey. Both women were effusive in their thanks that the director had approached them in absolute kindness and empathy as they were literally walking from the parking lot to an abortion clinic. They changed their minds and were helped through their pregnancies and after the birth of their children, as well. Later in the program, two young, teenaged girls spoke of the sanctity of life and the good work of the pregnancy care center. In a very dramatic moment from the podium--because they were standing side by side--they turned to the director, thanked her, and said that had she not reached out to their moms that day and followed up with such love and compassion, both of them would have been dead. Pregnancy care centers across the country have suffered a surge of violent attacks, firebombing and vandalism by pro-abortion activists in a coordinated effort to intimidate frontline volunteers and licensed medical professionals providing critical support to mothers in need and their unborn baby girls and boys. Now more than ever the Biden administration and law enforcement needs to enforce the law.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding, and I thank Ann Wagner for authoring this important legislation. Madam Speaker, in a Florida abortion clinic, Sycloria Williams delivered a live baby girl at 23 weeks. The clinic owner took the baby, who was gasping for air, cut her umbilical cord, threw her into a biohazard bag, and put the bag in the trash. Heartbroken, Ms. Williams later had a funeral for her baby girl, who she named Shanice. CNN has reported since that Ms. Williams suffers PTSD from that ordeal. Madam Speaker, why are these live births from abortion little known? Dr. Willard Cates, former head of the Centers for Disease Control's abortion surveillance unit, said several years ago live births are little known because organized medicine, from fear of public clamor and legal action, treats them more as an embarrassment to be hushed up than a problem to be solved. ``It is like turning yourself in to the IRS for an audit,'' he went on. ``What is there to gain? The tendency is not to report because there are only negative incentives.'' Madam Speaker, Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, one of the few who got caught--and it was under a State law, not Federal, and many States don't have such laws--was convicted of murder for killing children who were born alive after attempted abortions. The grand jury report described it in this way: ``Gosnell had a simple solution for the unwanted babies he delivered: He killed them. He didn't call it that. He called it `ensuring fetal demise.' The way he ensured fetal demise was by sticking scissors into the back of the baby's neck and cutting the spinal cord. He called that `snipping.''' The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act seeks to end or at least mitigate this egregious child abuse by requiring that a healthcare provider must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life of that child as they would a child of similar age. The bill empowers the woman upon whom the abortion is performed to obtain appropriate civil relief. I am sure had it been available then, Ms. Williams would have done that, as well. Madam Speaker, this is humane, pro-child, human rights legislation.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, for over three decades post- Tiananmen Square massacre, Congress was deeply divided; not between Republican and Democrat, but among the majority here and in the Senate who favored unfettered engagement and trade without serious human rights conditionality. Indeed, President Clinton delinked human rights in trade on May 26, 1994. I went up there and gave a press conference. I was joined by a few others saying how serious that was to give up on human rights and allow profits to trump human rights. We have seen the brutal nature of the Communist regime, especially under Xi Jinping, and the Chinese Communist Party's ultimate desire to seek hegemony. Over the years, I have chaired 76 congressional hearings on China and authored several pieces of legislation, including the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, and was the Republican sponsor of Jim McGovern's Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. We now have to make sure those laws are being faithfully implemented. Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago when China became a member of the WTO, most Members of Congress, and certainly in the business and community on foreign policy establishment, bought into what James Mann rightfully called ``the China fantasy.'' In other words, if you just trade more with a dictatorship, somehow they will matriculate into a democracy. That fantasy has been shown to be demonstrably naive, at best. The CCP has become more powerful because of the trade and dual use items that have accrued over there that are now being used by their military and by their police. I would note, parenthetically, I chaired two hearings on why China should not be invited into the WTO and no one--no one--listened. The record is clear, Mr. Speaker. As predicted, we have become more like them. Thankfully, that is changing, but many in our corporate establishment, as we saw with the Olympics, were standing right by Beijing and the CCP and Xi Jinping and wouldn't utter a word, including Coca-Cola and others, about the terrible killing of the Uyghurs and the use of forced labor camps. We have stood by as the Chinese embassy and the Ministry of State Security have harassed people of Chinese heritage and nationality living lawfully in the United States. We have not done all that we can do for the people of Hong Kong, Tibet, and the Uyghur people in the autonomous region. But today, thankfully, we are turning a page, and I applaud our Speaker for pushing hard for this select committee. Hopefully, it will make a difference.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding and for his leadership, and I thank my friend on the other side of the aisle for his support. Madam Speaker, in late March 2019, University of South Carolina senior Samantha Josephson--``Sami'' to friends and family--left a late- night outing with her friends alone because she had to work in the morning. The extraordinarily talented student, who had just earned a full scholarship to Drexel University law school, ordered an Uber. In a congested part of Columbia known as Five Points, a predator, pretending to be her Uber driver, took her in his car and brutally murdered her. Less than 24 hours later, Sami was found dead in a field. The murderer, Nathaniel Rowland, was caught. In a heart-wrenching trial in July 2021, Rowland was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Presiding Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman noted the ``horrific and most brutal nature'' of Sami's murder and said: ``It is the most severe murder that has occurred that I have been a witness to, as far as presiding in court or participating in as a lawyer.'' Almost immediately, however, after her death, and notwithstanding their excruciating agony over the loss of their precious daughter, Sami's parents, Seymour and Marci, began pushing for comprehensive new protection policies at Uber and Lyft and legislation to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that no one else is ever killed, raped, or assaulted by a rideshare driver. They created the #WHATSMYNAME Foundation in honor of their daughter to educate the world on rideshare safety. ``Samantha may be gone,'' they wrote, ``but our goal for the rest of our time on Earth is to share her story and make a lasting change.'' Seymour and Marci have, and are, making a lasting change. Their advocacy has saved lives and made so many more of us situationally aware of the dangers of using Uber and Lyft. For more than 3 years, almost 4 now, especially given the pain due to the unimaginable loss of their daughter, Seymour and Marci have been heroic, tenacious, and selfless. They have inspired modest reforms by Uber and Lyft but are the first to say that so much more needs to be done. Marci and Seymour have made frequent trips to the Capitol to meet lawmakers and staff from both sides of the aisle, including Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, as well as Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and subcommittee Chair Norton and Ranking Member Davis. Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, when she met with them, was so greatly moved, moved to tears, when they told their horrible story about what happened to their daughter. I am grateful that Chairman Pallone has waived the bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee today to ensure its consideration. I am grateful to the Speaker for her strong commitment to this cause, and there was that empathy. You felt it when you were in the room. They said, ``What can we do? We have to do as much as humanly possible,'' so I thank them. I offer my special thanks to Tom Suozzi for his tremendous support and for being the lead Democratic cosponsor all these years on this legislation. Robert Edmonson, with the Speaker, and Ryan Long, with Kevin McCarthy, and other staff members have done stellar work trying to push this and additional reforms forward because, hopefully, we are not done. The need for Sami's Law is absolutely compelling, I tell my colleagues. I ask all of us: Do any of us really believe that ridesharing, particularly late at night, particularly around college campuses, especially for women, is safe when you are in an Uber or Lyft? It is a big, open question. Two reports released by Uber found that, over a 4-year period from 2017 to 2020, there were 9,805 allegations of serious sexual assault by Uber drivers in the United States, and 39 people were killed in physical assaults during or soon after an Uber ride. Lyft's own safety record revealed 4,158 allegations of sexual assault in a 3-year period from 2017 to 2019. In September, NPR reported that ``Lyft is facing 17 new lawsuits brought by users of its service from around the country, who claim the company failed to protect passengers and drivers from physical and sexual assault.'' ``The new lawsuits come 3 years after 14 women filed a lawsuit against Lyft, claiming that, after being sexually assaulted or raped by drivers, Lyft failed to take action even when it was aware of drivers who were accused of assault and purposefully ignored victims' reports.'' Not a stellar record. Just last week, Eziya Bowden, a 17-year-old woman from North Carolina, jumped out of a moving Lyft vehicle and ended up in the emergency room out of fear that her driver, who made several disturbing comments, was trying to drug her. She was only a few miles away from her home. Sami's Law under consideration by the House today is an important first--I say ``first''--step to enhance safety for both passengers and drivers and to mitigate future violence. Sami's Law makes unlawful the unauthorized selling or offering for sale of ridesharing signage, making it more difficult for imposters like Sami's murderer to pose as rideshare drivers. Let me just point out that when Tom Suozzi testified before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Chairman DeFazio, when we talked about this factor, that you can go to Amazon or Walmart and get a sign that says you are an Uber driver, he went online as we were talking and said: There it is. I can buy an Uber sign. You would think the companies would want to control the signage. This legislation will make it illegal to sell it in those outlets and anywhere else unless approved by the companies. Sami's Law also requires the GAO to investigate and provide an independent, comprehensive report to Congress on the incidence of assault and abuse of both passengers and drivers, and to do it annually, and requires that the GAO examine the nature and specifics of background checks conducted by companies and the varying standards set by States regarding background checks. We want to know: What do they do when they find out who their drivers are? We have asked the hard questions. The answers have not been all that good. It also assesses safety steps thus far taken by rideshare vehicles, taxis, and other vehicles for hire. I am disappointed to say that opposition from Uber and Lyft has resulted in dropping other lifesaving provisions that were in the original bill that was passed by the House in the last Congress with Tom Suozzi and I leading on that, as well. One required Uber and Lyft and other transportation network companies to implement a simple digital method of verifying that the passenger and driver have been specifically matched by the TNC prior to the ride beginning, so that match is made right before you take off. Yes, that is who the driver should be, and the person in back has ordered that Uber. It also gives a record going forward if any kind of assault does, indeed, occur. The opposition to this digital security feature is mind-boggling to me. Uber has the technology and even a program in place, but they offer it only as an opt-in program, a program so well hidden that few riders even know about it. Our legislation passed in July 2020 said that transportation companies may offer a passenger an option out, an opt-out. If you want to be out of it, get out of it, but the default would be you are in it, and it is all for your protection. It is like safety belts. There was a time when that was controversial. Now, we all put them on. The buzzer goes off, or the bell or the ring, if you don't have that on. A second provision that we lost was Sami's council, which would simply empower a working group to continually make upgrades as to how better to utilize all of this. Let me just say, finally, Marci and Seymour at the sentencing or before that at the trial--they inspire us--they also spoke. I will read only a few of the words that they said. I remember watching it on television, and it just broke my heart. Here is what Marci said. ``I close my eyes, and I feel what she endured at his hands 120 times''--he stabbed her, remember--``over and over and over, fighting for her life, locked in his car. I used to have dreams for her. Now, all I have are nightmares--120 times. The final moments, her bare feet kicking and fighting for her life. I visualize the blood flowing from her body, her joyful body, 120 times. For what? The $35 a college student has in her bank account? ``The excruciating pain he put her through is unimaginable. . . . In one second, our lives changed . . . Her death sliced through my heart.'' In his statement, Seymour questioned how this could have happened at all, challenging us to prevent it in the future. Again, they have spent so much time, dedicating their lives so nobody else ever has to go through this. He said, at the trial: ``I have repeated nightmares and visions of him, the monster, stabbing her. I have visions of her foot on the back window. I have visions of her screaming and fighting. I have visions of her taking her last breath. ``I stand here . . . in bewilderment, asking how in the world did we get here? That night of her kidnapping and murder, she called me about using my credit card because supposedly hers didn't work with Uber or Lyft. ``I look at my wife, and she is not even close to being the same. I have lost a huge piece of her, along with Samantha. Every day, I look at her and only wish I could do something to take that pain away.'' So, I ask my colleagues that, in Sami's name, today, we act to protect rideshare passengers and their drivers, and we take an important first step to safeguard others from the unspeakable pain that Seymour and Marci Josephson now endure.