Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in the age of ultrasound imaging and benign life enhancing healthcare interventions for the baby in the womb, how is it that Planned Parenthood first dehumanizes and then massively kills unborn children--more than 7 million since 1973--and then demands that taxpayers subsidize the organization to the tune of about $500 million? Caught on numerous videos, Planned Parenthood abortionists describe how they dig with knives and cut out the inner organs of babies all while altering pain-filled dismemberment procedures so as to preserve intact baby hearts, lungs, and livers for a price. This isn't the first time Planned Parenthood has been caught red- handed. In 2011, videos by Live Action exposed several Planned Parenthood clinics eager to facilitate secret abortions for undercover pimps for child sex trafficking. In 2012, more videos by Live Action exposed Planned Parenthood advising undercover investigators how to procure sex selection abortions for little girls. Have we lost our capacity to be shocked? Can we not empathize with the child victim? Support the override.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. I want to congratulate Chairman Royce on the Electrify Africa Act as a companion bill to the legislation that we have before us today. We held a hearing in my subcommittee that Karen Bass will remember well in November of 2014. The blessings that will accrue from a huge effort to electrify Africa are almost without limit, especially when it comes to health care and ensuring that students can have proper light to go to school and to study, particularly at night. All of the benefits that we take for granted in the United States and in other parts of the world still have yet to come to Africa. In the 21st century, energy has become vital, as we all know, to modern societies. We no longer have to shop for food each day. Refrigerators keep food cold and preserved longer, whether in our homes, in restaurants, or during the process of transportation. Cell phones, computers, televisions, and other electronics require electrical power to allow us to lead more productive lives in the modern world and increasingly in the developing world. As we have seen in the recent Ebola epidemic and in the current Zika virus epidemic, it is vital that medicines and plasma be kept cold so that they don't lose their potency. Of course, in the preservation of blood and so many other items that are essential to life, electricity facilitates their continuance and their potency. It is unfortunate that the continent of Africa has so many people who have been denied the ability to enjoy the advances of science. Currently, only 290 million people out of about 914 million Africans have access to electricity and the total number lacking continues to rise. Bioenergy, mainly fuel, wood, and charcoal, is still the major source of fuel, and as the chairman pointed out in his opening comments, it threatens the lives of so many people in Africa, including the eyesight of many of those who experience that. On the other hand, hydropower accounts for about 20 percent of the total power supply in the region, but less than 10 percent of its estimated potential has been realized. Persistent drought in some areas makes hydropower unpredictable. The Electrify Africa Act takes an all-of-the-above approach--all of these good prospects--in promoting the widest selection of sources of energy that includes all forms of fossil fuels, but also hydroelectric and renewable energy sources. This facilitates African nations to use all available energy sources. Coal, which is abundant in Africa, will be in the mix, and, hopefully, we can help them import clean coal technology to mitigate pollution. Again, I thank the chairman for this legislation.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 515) to protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders outside the United States to the government of the country of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify the United States when a known child-sex offender is seeking to enter the United States, and for other purposes.

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 materials on this measure.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, child predators thrive on secrecy, a secrecy that allows them to commit heinous crimes against the weakest and most vulnerable. Today the House has under consideration H.R. 515, the International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, a law that will significantly thwart child sexual exploitation in the United States and abroad through a comprehensive and efficient system that warns law enforcement of traveling sex offenders. Mr. Speaker, I first introduced International Megan's Law back in 2008. It has passed the House three times--2010, 2014, 2015--and, thankfully, passed the United States Senate in December. International Megan's Law honors the memory of Megan Kanka, a precious little girl from my hometown of Hamilton who suffered and died at the hands of a sexual predator. Megan was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered in 1994. Her assailant lived across the street. Unbeknownst to her family and other residents in the neighborhood, he was a convicted repeat sex offender. Due to the extraordinary work by Megan's courageous parents, Maureen and Richard Kanka, the New Jersey State Legislature passed and the Governor signed the original Megan's Law in 1994 and expanded it in 2001. It requires registration and public notification of convicted sex offenders living in the community. Today all 50 States and all U.S. territories have a Megan's Law. Because of this law, parents, guardians, universities, school officials, sports coaches, law enforcement, and the public at large are now empowered with the critical information they need to mitigate harm to children. We know from law enforcement and media documentation that Americans on the U.S. sex offender registries are caught sexually abusing children in Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and, frankly, everywhere. A deeply disturbing 2010 report by the GAO found that at least 4,500 U.S. passports were issued to registered sex offenders in fiscal year 2008 alone. Typically, Mr. Speaker, a passport is valid for 10 years, meaning some or many of the tens of thousands of registered sex offenders possessing passports may be on the prowl internationally looking to exploit and abuse. Ernie Allen, who served for 30 years as the president and CEO of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, recently said: ``It is clear that there is a substantial category of offenders who do not offend as a lapse of judgment; they do it as a lifestyle. And these are the offenders who are most likely to travel to seek victims in places where the offender is most likely to be anonymous and most likely to avoid identification and apprehension.'' Studies suggest and demonstrate that even when caught, prosecuted, and jailed, for a number of predators, the propensity to recommit these crimes at a later date remains. For example, a 2008 study by Oliver, Wong, and Nicholaichuk showed that untreated sex offenders were reconvicted for sexual crimes at a rate of 17.7 percent after 3 years, 24.5 percent after 5 years, and 32 percent after 10 years. Keep in mind, Mr. Speaker, that these are just the rates for those who were caught again and then convicted. Pedophiles and other sexual predators often harm more than one victim. There are different studies that showed large numbers of child victims and large numbers of acts committed against those children. For every victim who reports, there are likely many others who could not, would not, and cannot come forward. Mr. Speaker, some of those exploited children are prostituted by human traffickers to pedophiles. The International Labour Organization has estimated that 1.8 million children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation around the world each year. It is imperative that we take the lessons learned on how to protect our children from known child sex predators within our borders and expand those protections globally to prevent convicted U.S. sex offenders from harming children abroad. It is imperative that we teach other countries how to establish their own Megan's Law and push other countries to warn us in the United States when their sex offenders are traveling here. Specifically, H.R. 515 will authorize and empower the Angel Watch Center, operating under the auspices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to check flight manifests against sex offender registries and quickly warn destination countries when sex offenders are headed their way. The Angel Watch Center is authorized to send actual information about child sex offender travel to destination countries in a timely fashion for those countries to assess the potential damage and dangers to their kids and to respond appropriately, whether it is to deny entry or visa, monitor travel, or limit travel. To prevent offenders from thwarting International Megan's Law notification procedures by country hopping to an alternative destination not previously disclosed, H.R. 515 includes provisions for the State Department to develop a passport identifier or, as we put it in the bill, ``any visual designation affixed to a conspicuous location on the passport indicating that the individual is a covered sex offender.'' A passport, Mr. Speaker, so identified provides law enforcement and Customs an additional tool to protect children. The passport identifier is only for those who have been found guilty of a sex crime involving a child and have been deemed dangerous enough to be listed on a public sex offender registry. When this information is no longer public knowledge in the United States--in other words, they are off the registry--the passport identifier, in like manner, will no longer be required. It is worth noting that some States already require sex offenders to have their status listed on their driver's licenses--Alabama, Florida, Delaware, and Louisiana, to name a few. Ironically, it has been reported that some registered sex offenders have used their passports as an ID in order to keep their status secret. Mr. Speaker, in order to protect potential victims, H.R. 515 also aims to establish a durable system of reciprocity among the nations of the world. International Megan's Law directs the Secretary of State to seek agreements with other countries so that the U.S. is notified in advance of incoming sex offenders. I would like to offer my profound appreciation, Mr. Speaker, to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for his deep and abiding commitment to combating human trafficking in all of its ugly manifestations, for scheduling the House vote 12 months ago on International Megan's Law and another dozen or so anti-human trafficking measures sponsored by Members from both sides of the aisle. That was historic and had never been done like that before. So I thank him for that leadership and for working closely with the Senate in order to help bring this bill to fruition. His policy adviser, Emily Murry, was remarkable, as was and is Kelly Dixon. I would like to thank our distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, and Ranking Member Eliot Engel for their strong support for this bill and for the assistance of Jessica Kelch, Doug Anderson, and Janice Kaguyutan. Janice will remember. She traveled with one of my staffers years ago investigating this terrible issue, which is a global scourge. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee on the Senate side, truly made this bill a priority and carried it over the finish line in the Senate. Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that. His professional staff, Caleb McCarry and Counsel Sarah Ramig, showed remarkable dedication and persistence through multiple interagency negotiations. His chief of staff, Todd Womack, and legislative director, Rob Strayer, skillfully guided the bill through the process on the Senate side, and I can't thank them enough. I also want to thank my good friend Ben Cardin--Ben and I serve and have served for decades on the Helsinki Commission--for his support and for his efforts. I am grateful to Senator Richard Shelby and Senator Barbara Mikulski for their assistance and driving better Angel Watch Center collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service's Sex Offender Targeting Center. USMS will be required to vet names sent out by the Angel Watch Center and share previously vetted names with the Center in order to maximize expertise, avoid duplication of efforts, and ensure accuracy of international notifications. I would note that Senator Shelby also championed the passport provisions that will ensure sex offenders with crimes against children cannot end-run the system. I would like to thank his professional staffer, Shannon Hines, who was extraordinarily smart and creative during this process. Thanks to professional staffer Jen Deci as well as Senator Mikulski's staffer, Jennifer Eskra, for their tireless work as well. Senator John Cornyn, majority leader, did not rest on his success earlier this year in navigating the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act through the Senate, but persisted until International Megan's Law was complete over on the Senate side. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my chief of staff, Mary Noonan, who has been tenacious in guiding this bill past obstacle after obstacle, and Allison Hollabaugh, who worked energetically, effectively, and expertly with the agencies and other interested parties to achieve the final bill. I also would like to thank my former top Foreign Affairs Committee staff member, Sheri Rickert, who spent countless hours over several years negotiating with disparate parties trying to achieve passage of the bill. Those efforts, Sheri, were not in vain. I would like to thank the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their strong endorsement of the bill, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, ECPAT-USA, and the Family Research Council, for their input, counsel, and strong support. I again first introduced this bill in 2008, alongside Megan Kanka's parents, Maureen and Richard Kanka. Maureen and Richard, Mr. Speaker, are heroic people. They have fought for decades to spare children and their families from horrific crimes that can and must be prevented. While they still carry deep emotional and psychological scars, Maureen and Richard's selflessness, love of others, and vision have protected countless children from harm. Enactment of International Megan's Law will expand meaningful child protection at home and around the world, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina, (Mr. Pittenger), a member of the Financial Services Committee who has been very active in the fight against human trafficking.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield the gentleman 1 minute.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say this is a bipartisan bill. It will save children's lives. It will prevent other crimes to victims like Megan Kanka from happening not just in the United States but around the world. I think my good friend, Ann Wagner, said a moment ago that Megan is an angel. Her parents are guardian angels. They have taken a pain, an agony, and a trauma that is incomprehensible and have worked tirelessly to get Megan's Law enacted throughout the United States and in some other countries. This will take it to the next level and will establish that true reciprocal reciprocity regimen, whereby we notice, they notice, everybody knows what is going on to take the secrecy out of this travel when a convicted pedophile hops on a plane with the idea of exploiting children. This will have a very measurable impact and will protect children from this kind of agony. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman, Ed Royce, for his persistence and creativity in finding new ways to hold the administration accountable for preventing human trafficking, especially in government contracting, as is required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. It seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that U.S. Government procurement should be the quintessential example of how to buy goods and services from reputable vendors. The TVPA ensures that contracts are lost if there is complicity in trafficking and that responsible parties are prosecuted if they, in like manner, are complicit in human trafficking. H.R. 400 targets a key piece of the law for practical implementation and brings our government one step closer to ensuring that U.S. tax dollars are not going to companies that look askance at human trafficking by their contractors and subcontractors. Again, this is a very important bill. I want to thank the distinguished chairman for his leadership on this.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last April I had the privilege of joining with Autism Speaks to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) marking World Autism Awareness Day. World Autism Awareness Day is an opportunity to highlight the progress we have made to better understand Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and assist impacted families, but to also raise awareness of the significant challenges that remain--both in the U.S. and abroad. World Autism Awareness Day is one of only seven U.N.-sanctioned `world days.' For eight years in a row, major landmarks, organizations and everyday Americans ``light it up blue,'' to raise awareness and bring additional resources to assist families impacted by autism. This year's events are scheduled for Saturday, April 2nd. The light it up blue campaign was launched by Autism Speaks co- founder and board member, Suzanne Wright--a tenacious, dedicated and committed leader whose contributions have made, and continue to make, a real and tangible difference in the lives of individuals with ASD and their families. By way of background, in 2005 Suzanne and Bob Wright co-founded Autism Speaks after their grandson Christian was diagnosed with autism. Every day since, for over a decade now, Suzanne has led through her work at the organization and through personal examples of generosity and compassion. As the Co-chair of the Congressional Coalition for Autism Research and Education and Chairman of the House Subcommittee that oversees global health, I have worked with Suzanne and Bob Wright to craft, and shepherd into law, legislation that will boost research, services and support for individuals with ASD, including the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2014 (Autism CARES/Public Law 113-157) and the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act (PL 112-32). I recently learned that Suzanne Wright has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is taking a leave of absence from her work with Autism Speaks to manage her medical care. While there are many talented professionals who will carry the torch during Suzanne's leave and build on Suzanne's legacy at Autism Speaks, there will be a gaping hole only she can fill. I am hopeful that my colleagues will join me in keeping Suzanne, her husband Bob, and the entire Wright family in our thoughts and prayers during these difficult days. And in Suzanne's honor, I call on all of us to redouble our efforts and work even harder to ensure that we do everything within our power to assist families touched by autism.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding. I rise in strong support of H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker, there is a compelling need to pass tough and effective legislation to freeze the assets of the Kim Jong-un regime. I want to commend Chairman Royce for his long and hard work on North Korea and his determination to bring this bill to the floor. I again thank Ranking Member Eliot Engel for his good, strong sense of bipartisanship. This is a one-two punch against a cruel dictatorship, and this legislation has to get to the President as soon as possible. Mr. Speaker, whether it be North Korea or Iran, when will we learn the hard lesson that totalitarian states do not negotiate in good faith, cannot be trusted to hold up their end of the bargain, and use our goodwill and our foreign capital to keep on proliferating? They will not allow intrusive inspections because they cheat and because it weakens their status at home. They use nuclear weapons negotiations to enhance their own diplomatic status and to gain concessions. In the end, nuclear negotiations earn rogue nations like Iran and North Korea foreign capital and other investments from the West. They use that to fund additional missile technology, to fund criminal and terrorist activities, and to continue with clandestine nuclear programs. During the Bush administration, the most effective tools in bringing the North Korea dictatorship to heel were the freezing of its assets in the Banco Delta Asia in Macao and the building of an international coalition to interdict suspect North Korea shipping. These should be our priorities now, especially in the shadow of North Korea's nuclear tests, by imposing mandatory sanctions on the perpetrators of human rights abuses, censorship, arms and human trafficking, money laundering, as well proliferation. Nearly 2 years ago, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry reported that the ongoing crimes against humanity in North Korea have no ``parallel in the contemporary world.'' These crimes include ``extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, and racial, and grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons, and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.'' Kim Jong-un cares not at all about the welfare of his own people. We should expect that he cares even less about the welfare of the people of Japan, South Korea, or even U.S. citizens who face the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons. The U.N. Commission recommended that the U.N. impose targeted sanctions on the North Korean leaders responsible for its human rights crimes. However, China blocks U.N. action. Without U.N. action, the U.S. must act, using our position as the steward of the global financial system. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on North Korea welcomes such action, supporting targeted sanctions of those most responsible for these heinous crimes against humanity.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Walberg for his very excellent remarks, but also for that very personal story. That is very, very touching. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman from Texas for, again, a very eloquent statement, and my hope is that people are listening. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores).

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 the subject of our Special Order.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, since 1973, at least 58 million unborn children have been killed by abortion, a staggering loss of children's precious lives, a death toll that equates with the entire population of England. Despite this staggering loss of children's lives and the sad fact that President Obama is using stealth, deception, and coercive power of the State to promote abortion violence, including the massive public funding of abortion on demand in ObamaCare, the pro-life movement is alive and well and making serious, significant, and sustained progress. Yesterday Congress passed landmark legislation to end taxpayer subsidies for Planned Parenthood, and special thanks go to Speaker Ryan, Majority Leader McCarthy, Chairman Price, and others in leadership for crafting this lifesaving legislation. In this Congress alone, powerful pro-life measures have passed, including the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. On the State level, 282 pro-life laws have been enacted since 2010, including laws to stop dismemberment abortions, require a 72-hour waiting period, and to provide informed consent. With the March for Life only a couple days away, pro-lifers are more determined, faith-filled, and hope-filled than ever. Millennials are overwhelmingly pro-life. As the former head of the pro-abortion group NARAL observed, after witnessing a recent pro-life march, the March for Life, she said: I just thought, my gosh, they are so young. There are so many of them, and they are so young. Public opinion polls concur that more Americans, especially women and young people, are pro-life. Seventy-one percent of the millennials opposed taxpayer funding for abortion, 69 percent of the women. Fifty- nine percent of women favor a limit on abortion at at least 20 weeks when the unborn child is capable of feeling pain. The Gallup Poll has found that Planned Parenthood's favorability rating among women has dropped 24 points in the last two decades alone. A few minutes ago, Mr. Speaker, Speaker Paul Ryan enrolled H.R. 3762, sponsored by Dr. Price, a bill to roll back much of ObamaCare and to defund Planned Parenthood. Yes, the President, President Obama, the abortion President, is all but certain to veto that bill to defund Planned Parenthood, and I just have to say, Mr. Speaker, How sad is that? The President has everything, but, sadly, there is no room, no empathy for the babies who will be exterminated. That is tragic. Hopefully he will have a change of heart at some point in his career, and hopefully it will be within weeks. I now yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for his very eloquent comments. I would like to now yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Chairman Shuster for those excellent comments. I now yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for his bill. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. I thank him for his leadership and for standing up so courageously for life.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Lipinski for those very fine comments. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his leadership on this most important human rights issue of our time. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for his comments. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), a very strong and outspoken supporter of the right to life.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Kelly for his very strong statement. More people now recognize, especially through ultrasound, that birth is an event, not the beginning of life. Increasingly, because the methods of abortion are so horrific--literal dismemberment of the baby, chemical poisoning--people are waking up. Abortion is violence against children and injurious to women. Again, I thank the gentleman for his commitment to life. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank Mr. Rothfus very much for his leadership and for his very eloquent remarks. William Wilberforce reminds us all that, through prayer, fasting, tenacity, and the pursuit of justice, he really was able to stop the slave trade. Thankfully, in this Congress, we have so many leaders--men and women on the pro-life side--who stand up boldly and effectively, and we will win this. I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you so very much, Pete, for those very moving remarks. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Fleming), who is the prime sponsor of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, along with Diane Black and Jeff Fortenberry.