Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 40th Anniversary of the Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, N.J., located in the Fourth Congressional District of New Jersey. On July 4, 1984, the medical center opened its doors as Brick Hospital, part of the Northern Ocean Hospital System. Its roots go back even farther, due to its ties to Point Pleasant Hospital, which opened in 1918 with four rooms in the home of Dr. Frank Denniston. Point Pleasant Hospital became part of the North Ocean Hospital System in the 1980s, growing to 120 acute care beds by 1984 and serving patients with 200 physicians and 400 staff. Point Pleasant Hospital had 17,000 emergency room visits and 3,600 admissions. Today the hospital boasts 317 licensed beds, another 40 rehabilitation beds, nearly 800 physicians and 2,600 staff, plus over 120 residents and fellows. Admissions have risen to over 12,500 per year, while emergency department visits have now topped 85,700 in the past year, including visits to its Ocean Care Center in Point Pleasant Beach. The hospital takes pride in its pursuit of excellence in nursing care, as seen via its distinction as a Magnet-credentialed facility, enjoying numerous recognitions for quality care in areas such as joint replacement, stroke, colon cancer surgeries. The hospital leadership has worked hard to offer advanced care, including heart and vascular services, orthopedics and advanced surgical procedures with cutting- edge robotic technology and both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. The hospital's pursuit to deliver the best care possible was rewarded in 2021 with a prestigious ``University'' designation, which acknowledges exceptional teaching programs in the contributions to delivering high quality care. Ocean University Medical Center acute care service is enhanced by its Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, which helps to meet the hospital's goal to provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation right on campus. That convenience aims at helping people regain their independence and reach their highest possible degree of functionality as quickly as possible following illness or injury. The accolades over those 40 years are too numerous to mention, but I recognize just a few of the latest the hospital has achieved: U.S. News & World Report 2024-25 recognition as a High Performing hospital in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, hip replacement, knee replacement, leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma, and lung cancer surgery; The ``A'' Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in the Spring 2023 Hospital Safety Grade report; The American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2023 Platinum Performance Award-National Cardiovascular Data Registry for Chest Pain-MI; 2022 certification by the ACC for HeartCARE designation; The Healthgrades' 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award, placing it among the top 5 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety; Recognition by the American Heart Association in its 2023 Get With The Guidelines awards program, earning Gold Plus Achievement Awards in the categories of: Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite; Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll; and Target: Heart Failure, and; Recognition by Practice Greenhealth in 2023 as a Top 25 Hospital in the nation for Environmental Excellence. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the future of Ocean University Medical Center looks bright. The hospital is now a member of the Hackensack Meridian Health Network, with 18 hospitals and more than 36,000 team members, 7,000 physicians and 500 patient care locations. With the recent completion of the $19.5 million Dr. Robert H. and Mary Ellen Harris Heart and Vascular Center, Ocean University Medical Center now boasts one of the Garden State's most advanced centers for heart and vascular diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the hospital hosts a variety of local classes and programs to help people quit smoking, manage diabetes, treat stroke and brain injuries, identify heart attack risks and prevention methods, lower risk of falls, take advantage of health screenings or with other quality of life matters. These programs complement the many health care services and accolades I just cited, and together they combine to help the hospital deliver on its mission of providing quality healthcare, and simultaneously developing students, residents, fellows, faculty and an overall health care environment that strives for the highest possible quality of healthcare for all patients. Their approach is unique because it utilizes the best components of different, evidence-based teaching methods, and structures curriculum specifically to give students what they need to excel in today's modern, technically demanding clinical settings. Mr. Speaker, you, I and many of our colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives host the annual Congressional Art Competition for high schools in congressional districts across America. It is with pride that I note Ocean University Medical Center hosted my annual Congressional High School Art Competition in 2023. In 2025, the hospital will once again host art students, their teachers and parents. The 2023 month-long exhibition was so warmly welcomed by staff, patients and visitors that I am eager for the show to open in the Spring of 2025. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, October 5, 2024, the leaders and staff at Ocean University Medical Center will officially celebrate four decades of delivering health care to the Brick, Point Pleasant and surrounding communities . . . truly a noteworthy accomplishment in which they should take great pride. I congratulate President and Chief Hospital Executive Frank Citara, the Board of Trustees, the Foundation, the entire medical staff and all employees of the Ocean University Medical Center family on reaching this milestone.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mrs. McIver, and I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. McIver).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, especially from New Jersey, and I rise today to congratulate and welcome our newest colleague, LaMonica McIver, from New Jersey's 10th Congressional District. Mrs. McIver has served on the Newark City Council since 2018. She served as the council president, and I think, as many people know, Newark is the largest city in the State of New Jersey. It is also the same council where our good friend and distinguished former colleague, Donald Payne, Jr., had served with great distinction. I point out that she excelled in the Newark public school system and graduated from Bloomfield College before going on to receive her master's degree from Seton Hall University, everything in New Jersey. Before running for office, she worked in human resources across several public school districts, including personnel director for Montclair Public Schools. She also worked as a public affairs manager for PSE&G, one of New Jersey's major utility companies. We offer, on both sides of the aisle, our warmest welcome to her and look forward to working with her in the coming days and weeks. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), my good friend.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3764, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024. This is a simple, clean, 3-sentence bill that reauthorizes the Commission, popularly known as USCIRF, for 2025 and 2026. It does so by amending the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 in the authorization of appropriations merely by updating the years of authorization and expiration. This has become the tradition: clean, simple, 2-year reauthorizations, and we should stick to this. It's vital that we reauthorize USCIRF because it is the linchpin of the entire program Congress created to promote religious freedom through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF's high- quality reporting and high-profile commissioners influence the State Department's work on religious freedom, making it more honest and effective. USCIRF is tasked with defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, reviewing reports of religious freedom violations and making policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the congressional leadership of both political parties. In May, Speaker Johnson appointed our former colleague the Honorable Vicky Hartzler to the Commission, and none of you will be surprised to hear that she's been a very active and engaged commissioner. It was my very good friend Chairman Frank Wolf, who, in 1998, with great legislative skill, commitment and driving passion, pushed a supportive Congress but highly reluctant White House into enacting a singularly important human rights law--the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Frank Wolf's law made the protection and promotion of religious freedom a serious priority in U.S. foreign policy by creating an Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, by establishing the Office of International Religious Freedom at the Department of State--which among other duties, compiles the International Religious Freedom Reports on every country in the world--and by crafting the independent-minded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the subject of today's reauthorization. Importantly, Frank Wolf's landmark law also created a system for naming and taking action against Countries of Particular Concern, or CPCs. History has shown that when the U.S. elevates religious freedom and that priority is conveyed to Countries of Particular Concern, conditions often change for the better, prisoners of conscience gain their freedom and progress is made in the free or at least freer exercise of religious liberty. As the author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, which updated Frank's legislation in 2016, I follow the implementation of this law very closely. Since its founding, the International Religious Freedom Commission has issued 25 annual reports and recommended that 25 countries be designated CPCs--17 of them have ultimately been designated by the State Department. The IRFC acts as a true watchdog, recommending with incisive commentary that more countries be designated as Countries of Particular Concern than the State Department regularly designates. This demonstrates that USCIRF is a genuinely outside force, a constructive influence on the State Department. Convincing the State Department to heed the recommendations of USCIRF can be a process that takes years, and some administrations are more difficult to convince than others. In this respect the Biden administration has been one of the worst. Nigeria is the most egregious case of all. USCIRF has recommended CPC status--after all, almost 5,000 Christians were killed there for their faith last year, with rampant government complicity. This is no- brainer--but not for the Biden-Harris Administration, which attributes this modern martyrdom to climate change and tribal conflict. This is egregious. Over 90 percent of Christians killed for their faith last year, in the entire world, were killed in Nigeria. USCIRF, however, calls it like it is and pulls no punches. Mr. Speaker, USCIRF in recent years has been more effective than at any point in its history. Its recent chairs and commissioners have raised the profile and credibility of the Commission. I can say today that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is the U.S. government's strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide. Mr. Speaker, USCIRF's mission is to monitor religious freedom violations globally and make policy recommendation to the U.S. government--that's a big mission, and it's always commanded bipartisan support. S. 3764 and its House companion, H.R. 7025, which has identical language and was introduced by myself and my good friend Rep. Eshoo, has together an equal number of Republican and Democrat co- sponsors. I believe Speaker Johnson's most recent appointments to the Commission, our former colleague Vicky-Hartzler and Maureen Ferguson, will help keep it on course. Congress will continue to do its part. USCIRF is important to millions of our constituents of all faiths. I urge my colleagues to support S. 3764 and reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from New Jersey, the Honorable LaMonica McIver, be permitted to take the oath of office today. Her certificate of election has not arrived, but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to her election.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as the proud Co-Chair of the Congressional Pediatric and Adult Hydrocephalus Caucus--along with my good friend Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas--I rise to express my support for the goals and ideas of World Hydrocephalus Day and recognize September as National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month. Hydrocephalus--a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain--is colloquially known as ``water on the brain.'' Everyone, from babies to the elderly, can develop it. While some cases are congenital, it can also be caused by a traumatic brain injury, an infection, or even just develop as part of the aging process--anyone can acquire hydrocephalus at any time. Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition that affects approximately 1,000,000 people in the United States with an incidence rate of 85 per 100,000 individuals. One out of every 770 babies born will develop hydrocephalus. Nationwide, over 400,000 babies a year are born with hydrocephalus. Since 2000, more than 470,000 United States servicemembers have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), one cause of Hydrocephalus. Brain surgery is the only treatment--many patients endure dozens of surgeries in their lifetime. The implantation of a `shunt', a tube that allows fluid to move from one part of the body to another, is the standard course of treatment for hydrocephalus. Unfortunately, shunt's have one of the highest failure rates of all medical devices, resulting in repeated procedures for patients and a diminished quality of life. It is essential to better understand this condition and its profound impact on the people we represent. While there is no cure yet, Congress can play a role in moving the ball forward. Mr. Speaker, further education and research is needed to prevent, detect, and treat hydrocephalus. Fortunately, there are wonderful organizations such as the Hydrocephalus Association and Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation, that serve as global leaders for hydrocephalus awareness, education, support, research, and advocacy. These organization are advancing the wellbeing of every individual with hydrocephalus, their families, and their caregivers. Especially important to the awareness work of hydrocephalus community are the volunteers who give their time to advocate for and provide services to all those living with hydrocephalus. I'd like to offer special thanks to Carly Weismann, one of my constituents and a volunteer who for the last eight years has been the chairperson of the New Jersey Hydrocephalus Walk which raises needed awareness and funds to aid those with hydrocephalus. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the important goals of World Hydrocephalus Day and join me in recognizing September as Hydrocephalus Month.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for her leadership on this important issue and so many other health issues that is making all the difference in the world. This bill would not be on the floor today without her leadership. I thank Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers so very, very much for that leadership. I thank my good friend, Frank Pallone, for his strong support as well. I thank Henry Cuellar, who is the prime Democrat cosponsor. Mr. Speaker, 61 Members of the House have cosponsored it. It is a totally bipartisan piece of legislation. Anna Eshoo was not only a cosponsor but very helpful when we did Autism CARES of 2019. This builds on that and expands it and strengthens it going forward. I also thank the staff. We know so much of the great hard work, the spade work, is done by the staff; Molly Brimmer, Kristin Fritsch, and Caitlin Wilson. I also thank John McDonough on my staff. I thought John would be here. He will be here in a moment. I thank Scott Badesch who worked for the Autism Society, who is now on our staff for a dozen years, and also worked for the United Way. It is a great collaboration of great people all on behalf of helping those on the spectrum, those with severe autism, and, of course, the family members and friends who have such a heavy, heavy lift in caring for and loving because there are so many challenges. Autism spectrum disorder, Mr. Speaker, is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent impairments in social communication and social interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, leading to difficulty in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships with others. If that is not enough, frequently accompanying autism are other co- occurring medical, behavioral, or mental health conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders, learning challenges, sleep disorders, feeding and eating issues, mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety, and sensory sensitivities that can lead to seizures. In some cases, certain symptoms are co-occurring conditions that result in self-injurious behaviors that present complex challenges to parents and caregivers. I point out for the record, Mr. Speaker, about 30 years ago, Bobbie and Billy Gallagher, parents of two children with autism, who were babies at the time, came into my office in Whiting, New Jersey, and said we need to do something. Nothing is really being done. Sure enough, we found out that CDC was spending about $287,000 a year for their entire program, straight line for 5 years. I introduced legislation, the Energy and Commerce Committee incorporated it into the Children's Health Act, and that began this important rise in focus and providing the necessary resources to help those with autism to try to find a way of mitigating its impact on both the person with it as well as upon the family. The Autism CARES Act is a comprehensive reauthorization and strengthening of the whole-of-government effort that we have been working on now for three decades. We wouldn't be here today as well if it wasn't for the organizations. Several of them, and we all know them: Autism Speaks, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, The Arc of the United States, Profound Autism Alliance, and the Autism Society, among many others, provided us useful and very informed thoughts and suggestions that are incorporated into this bill. For the last 2 years, we have been meeting with them, again, trying to find out what needs to be done and where there is overlap. We don't want to repeat things that don't need to be done. I have learned so much about how well this is working under the IACC, which is the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. They go overboard trying to prevent duplicative research so that we are not just spending money. We are trying to do it in a way that is very, very precise and very focused. As the chairwoman a moment ago said, 1 in 36 children in the United States are on the spectrum. In my State, it is 1 in 35, so we are one of the top three in the country that have manifestations of autism. We need to do more on this. The bill does also include the idea of the entirety of the age. No matter what age you are, if you have autism, we want to help and provide the necessary resources. We started that last time, and it is making a difference. As my friend from New Jersey pointed out, it increases from five to seven the NIH Centers of Excellence. NIH does so much in every category to try to, again, help those. Let me just remind my colleagues, and I will finish with this, that we now have the capability to detect autism as early as 18 months. Incredible advancements have been made in this area. Yet, the median age of diagnosis in the United States is not until 4 years of age. We are missing crucial early intervention opportunities by not identifying and then helping those who have it. I urge passage, and again, I thank the chairwoman.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I am a proud cosponsor of Rep. Tiffany's H.R. 1425, No WHO pandemic Treaty Without Senate Approval Act. H.R. 1425 would ensure that any international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response agreed to by the World Health Assembly is deemed a treaty and thereby sent to the Senate for ``Advice and Consent''. In my 45 years in Congress, I have seen time and time again efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to expand authorities and ideologically colonize vulnerable countries using foreign assistance-- the majority of it funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars. Once again, but now in a manner that is most concerning to me-- through a treaty--they plan to exploit people's fears of the next pandemic in order to execute and bind Leftist ideological pursuits, disguised as supporting ``equity'', ``essential health services'', and the like, all the while trampling on U.S. sovereignty, threatening intellectual property rights and free speech, and promoting or funding abortion. The approach to drafting this treaty has also been disturbing--the lack of transparency, the backroom negotiations, support for the WHO power grab, placing unknown financial obligations for U.S. taxpayers-- while benefitting China at the expense of the United States. Can Americans even trust the World Health Organization? Has WHO earned back our trust after the devastating blow we experienced from their horrific mismanagement and coverup of PRC involvement of the COVID-19 pandemic? No, they haven't. We weren't even going to be given a chance to see the final negotiated text before the treaty's presentation at the World Health Assemby this past May. Luckily, the negotiators could not reach an agreement in time (but may do so before the end of this year). From day one, we have been pressing the Biden Administration for transparency, to protect U.S. sovereignty from unelected WHO bureaucrats, and to commit to sending the proposed WHO Pandemic Treaty to the Senate for a real review before the U.S. government makes any agreement. This agreement is far too important to not receive a proper Congressional review and debate. Millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake. Will President Biden, make the treaty's final draft public so that taxpayers can review this treaty? So that civil society and the private sector can review it? So that U.S. Congress can review and debate it? So far, our demands have not been heeded. It is an absolute affront to our sovereignty to hand over critical health authorities to these unelected bureaucrats--with no accountability whatsoever--and empower them to dictate policies to U.S. medical professionals and U.S. taxpayers when it comes to vaccines, therapeutics, and the like. Using potential pandemics as a pretext to violate the principles of good governance erodes trust and undermines international cooperation when it is most needed. And we most certainly won't be signing a blank check. The American taxpayer should not be fleeced like this. Binding international covenants, treaties, or agreements--and the legal obligations imposed on nations--requires serious and comprehensive analysis and must be sent to the Senate for ``Advice and Consent''. I urge all members of Congress to do their duty and vote in favor of H.R. 1425.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I rise to convey our deepest sorrow on the passing of our longtime friend and colleague, 14-term New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell of the Ninth District in New Jersey. We offer our prayers and heartfelt condolences to his wife, Elsie, and three sons, Bill, David, and Glenn, the rest of the family, and, of course, close family friends as well. Bill's life was marked, Mr. Speaker, by exemplary service, having served in the United States Army, and as a high school history teacher and adjunct professor before becoming a State assemblyman for 5 terms, mayor for 2, and then Congressman for 28 years. He was dedicated to New Jersey families and an outspoken advocate for our law enforcement community, our firefighters, and our Nation's veterans. He is the author of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Reauthorization. His Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement Act created the groundbreaking Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program, which provides funding for protective equipment, emergency vehicles, training, and other critical support for aid to our firefighters. Since its creation in 2001, this incredible program has awarded over $10 billion to fire departments across the country, including almost $200 million to our own State of New Jersey. As co-chair and founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, Bill also helped lead the charge to advance brain health. His bipartisan Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2018 provided critical funding to help patients with brain injuries and their families, enhance breakthrough research, and for the first time ever create a national concussion surveillance system to improve prevention, care, and recovery efforts for traumatic brain injuries. Bill was also devoted to preserving New Jersey's beautiful natural resources and led efforts to designate Paterson Great Falls, the stunning 77-foot tall waterfall in the Passaic River as a national historic park. Please join us in offering our heartfelt prayers for him and his family. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership, as well as the leadership of Mr. Meeks and, of course, Chairman McCaul. As the prime author of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which I first introduced in 2014 when the umbrella revolution was occurring, many of us thought that if we did not take definitive actions, then Hong Kong would be lost. Unfortunately, Congress refused for years to bring up that bill. We did get it enacted into law, but it was a day late and a dollar short. However, this legislation, H.R. 1103, is a necessary next step in tangibly demonstrating our solidarity with the persecuted citizens of Hong Kong. I want to thank Jim McGovern, my friend and colleague, for cosponsoring it. It is a bipartisan bill, and, again, I appreciate Mr. Meeks' statement just a moment ago. At one time, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United States represented a city whose prosperity was based on its protection of fundamental human rights and freedom of the Hong Kong people. The U.S. gifted these offices, commonly known as HKETOs for short, with diplomatic privileges and immunities on the assumption that Hong Kong would remain free from Communist rule. However, 3 years after the CCP imposed the national security law on Hong Kong, we must deal with this new reality. The Hong Kong all of us knew, loved, and respected is gone. The city that was once a bastion of freedom in a sea of oppression is now governed by CCP puppets who have become as repressive as their masters in Beijing. Hong Kong unjustly detains political prisoners at a rate only surpassed by a handful of dictatorships such as Belarus and Burma. There are over 1,000 political prisoners in Hong Kong today. Renowned pro-democracy figures like Jimmy Lai--I actually chaired a hearing where we heard from his son, Sebastien, pleading with the world to speak up on behalf of his father--is now languishing in prison. Joshua Wong, whom we all met with during the great days when it looked like democracy was going to be protected, he, too, is languishing, as well as Tonyee Chow and so many others who are living in these horrible gulags in Hong Kong. But most of Hong Kong's political prisoners actually are unknown. They are university and high school students, medical workers, first responders, lawyers, teachers, moms and dads, businesspeople, journalists, and municipal policymakers jailed and sometimes tortured for peacefully demonstrating and organizing to protect democracy and human rights. The HKETOs are complicit in persecuting them. These offices serve as Beijing's propaganda arm in the United States, defending and dismantling the freedom of Hong Kong and obscuring the truth. In addition, HKETOs help the Chinese Communist Party track exiled Hong Kong activists in our own country. Anna Kwok, the executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, testified at one of my China hearings and made very clear that they are using these so-called economic leaders to track individuals and to hold family members and the like responsible back in the PRC as well as to put bounties on these individuals. This must stop, Mr. Speaker. The United States should not be granting diplomatic privileges and immunities to a network of Communist spies and propagandists. I spent a whole day reading each of the three HKETO websites. It was filled--overflowing with lies and deception, especially about the National Security Act, which is as draconian as any law that has ever been enacted. I do hope Members will support this. Even during last year's Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, who was organizing the counterprotests to the wonderful men and women of Hong Kong simply demanding freedom and democracy? Yes. It was HKETO there. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 1103.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, H.R. 554, first and foremost, because it underscores support for Taiwan, a true democracy and bastion of freedom in the Chinese-speaking world, and an example to which the repressed people of China can aspire. Secondly, however, this bill would illuminate the extent to which the Chinese Communist Party, centered around Xi Jinping, is a gang of thieves who have exploited the Chinese people struggling to make ends meet in a ``9-9-6 economy--working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week for a pittance with no job security. All while Xi Jinping himself has amassed a Putin-like fortune. We know that in 2012, when he was on the cusp of assuming supreme power, he had already squirreled away corporate investments worth approximately $375 million. Since then, it is estimated that his wealth has grown by leaps and bounds. No wonder then that the Chinese government has lobbied extensively against the release of a long-delayed report by the Director of National Intelligence on the corrupt wealth of Xi and his Politburo cronies. They know that revelation of their ill-gotten gains undermines the Communist Party's so-called claims to revolutionary legitimacy. The report that this bill calls for would also strip away any vestiges of Xi Jinping's claim to being an anti-corruption reformer. He never was. When he went against party rival Bo Xilai at the beginning of his regime, he was using ``anti-corruption'' as a weapon. Sadly, many in America at the time called him a ``rule-of-law'' reformer. That was completely wrong. Xi never believed in rule-of-law; it was always ``rule-by-law''--the dictates of the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping cloaked in law that was selectively enforced. For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize the incredible life and the amazing contributions of my friend Pat Smith, who passed away peacefully on August 17th. Tomorrow, September 7th there will be a ``Celebration of Life'' to honor and pay tribute to the remarkable Pat Smith. Pat Smith's extraordinary work for patients, caregivers, and Lyme- literate doctors around the country has been transformational. An incredibly well-informed and tenacious leader, Pat fought effectively and relentlessly for greater diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes for Lyme patients. Because of Pat Smith, legislation to better meet the needs of Lyme patients is now the law of the land. I first met Pat in 1992 and from that moment on, my understanding, advocacy, and legislative work for Lyme patients--and frankly the work of this Chamber--was substantially and positively influenced. She was an outstanding collaborator. She did meticulous research and was painstakingly honest, reliable, and hardworking--often to the chagrin of the Lyme deniers. A widely respected straight shooter, Pat did not mince words as she and I worked together--along with other Lyme victims and family caregivers--calling on all public, medical, and insurance industry officials to be forthright and dedicated in fighting Lyme and saving lives. More than 30 years ago, Pat Smith came to one of my town hall meetings in Wall, New Jersey, and shared with me the plight of those suffering from chronic Lyme, including her two daughters. Shortly after, Pat and I sat down with the top leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, who were polite but highly dismissive of our concerns surrounding the recommended treatment for Lyme. Pat was brilliant in that meeting. She told them how CDC's ``recommendation'' for prescribing up to a mere 1 month's worth of antibiotics was being used by health insurance companies as the ceiling for what was covered. Even if the patient had Lyme for 5 years, only 1 month of doxycycline was covered. The feds said it wasn't their intention to limit health insurance coverage, but they didn't fix the problem either. If you knew Pat, you knew that answer would not suffice. Already the founder and president of the Lyme Disease Association (LDA), Pat embarked on a personal and compassionate mission across the Nation to educate and help, spread awareness of this terrible disease, how to prevent it, and how to properly diagnose and treat it. She built synergistic coalitions around the country that worked relentlessly in support of Lyme research and to advance diagnosis and treatment for patients. Beyond the working coalitions, Pat organized 22 national, scientific conferences and shared her wealth of knowledge at hundreds of government, business, and school events. She provided both oral and written expert testimony in support of national and State laws and physicians' right to fully treat Lyme in numerous States, including our own. When Pat brought her renowned expertise, passion, and admirable no- nonsense demeanor to Washington, people listened. At my request, Pat testified before Congress and provided critical insights for substantive reform and Federal Lyme programs. And she skillfully made her case each year during the congressional appropriations process, ensuring that Lyme disease programs--and patients--finally got their due, or close to it. Pat also served two terms as a public member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, a working group created by legislation she and I worked on together and helped shepherd into law. The working group reports, mandated by Congress, represent a true landmark in their far-reaching coverage of the persistent symptoms and persistent illness suffered by Lyme disease patients and the need for enhanced understanding of Lyme disease-associated chronic illness. And the reports referenced many published studies of chronic Lyme disease. The groundbreaking content of the working group's reports and their positive impact on Lyme patients and Lyme study are due in no small part to two term working group member Pat Smith. Under Pat's leadership, LDA provided 127 research grants that have been acknowledged in 62 scientific journals. Working with author Amy Tan, she created LymeAid 4 Kids, a program that offers critical support to children with Lyme who come from families that face financial challenges. To date, this amazing initiative has provided more than $475,000 for diagnosis and treatment for children in need. Naturally inquisitive and loaded with ``street smarts,'' Pat also continued to study and probe the origins of Lyme and the impact defense bioweapons experiments on ticks may or may not have had on Lyme's epidemic growth in the U.S. Pat Smith's unyielding commitment to improving the Federal response to Lyme disease has made a huge difference and has offered so much hope for Lyme patients across the country. She demanded fairness and honesty and never asked anybody to give more or do more than she and her husband, Rich, gave and did for the cause of conquering Lyme. I will greatly miss my good friend, Pat Smith, a trailblazer for Lyme disease patients. Pat and I share a birthday, a last name, and a thirst for justice for patients with Lyme. For Pat, and in her honor, our fight will continue.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, this week in New Jersey at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Colonel Andrew L. Liput, Commander of the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, will receive a Presidential Lifetime Achievement and Volunteer Service Award, recognizing his outstanding commitment to volunteerism and his remarkable 10 years of service to our country in the Civil Air Patrol. Sworn in as the 24th Commander of the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol on July 10, 2021, Col. Liput is a three-generation Civil Air Patrol family member. National service and volunteerism runs in their blood. Col. Liput's father, Andrew Liput Sr. served in the Pennsylvania Wing during World War II as a submarine spotter on the East Coast and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to the American war effort in defense of the homeland. Col. Liput's daughter, Sloane Liput, was a member of the Picatinny Composite Squadron form 2015-2018 and achieved the rank of C/SMSGT before beginning her studies at Rutgers University on an ROTC scholarship. The Liput family's commitment to service to our nation in the Civil Air Patrol represents the best attributes of volunteerism and civic engagement. Col. Liput previously served at the squadron, wing, region, and national staff levels where, among other achievements of distinction-- including the Civil Air Patrol Meritorious Service Award--he was named National Government Relations Officer of the Year for 2020 by CAP Commanding Officer Maj Gen Mark Smith. Col. Liput's tenure as Commander of the New Jersey Wing, has brought the NJWG to the forefront of the Civil Air Patrol's mission and has led to new initiatives to modernize the Wing and connect them to the community, including key strategic partnerships with the NFL Alumni Association and the National Law Enforcement Against Drugs organizations to offer new opportunities through the national cadet program. With its roots in World War II, the Civil Air Patrol is a Total Force partner and serves as the United States Air Force Auxiliary, prepared to answer the call to search for and find the lost, provide comfort in times of disaster, and work to keep the homeland safe. It provides a proving ground for the next generation of American pilots through its Cadet program--many of whom continue their service to our Nation in the Armed Forces--while promoting aviation and the fields of aerospace and STEM. Through his distinguished term of service in the Civil Air Patrol, Col. Liput has enriched the national cadet program and ensured continued engagement of America's future leaders in the fields of aviation and aerospace technology. The Volunteer Service Award that Col. Liput receives is a presidential citation that honors Americans who have served more than 5000 hours in support of their community and nation and is a well- deserved recognition of Col. Liput's leadership, commitment to civic engagement, to the State of New Jersey, and the United States of America. A graduate of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey and Fordham Law School, Col. Liput enjoyed a distinguished career as a corporate and banking attorney for more than 25 years and is a successful entrepreneur, currently employed as the Founder, President, and CEO of Secure Insight, a financial services and technology company. While establishing a successful career in law, Col. Liput continued his family's tradition of service to our nation by joining the Civil Air Patrol, serving throughout the Northeast before his appointment as Commander of the NJWG. During his time of service and as Commander of the NJWG, Col. Liput has embodied the Civil Air Patrol's values of Integrity, Volunteer Service, Excellence, and Respect, rightfully earning this recognition which is a testament to his character and contributions to our community. I am honored to join his family, friends, and the greater New Jersey community in thanking him for his service to our Nation, his dedication to our state, and his selfless work to instill the values of patriotism and service in the next generation of New Jersey--and America's--leaders.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, at home and overseas, Frank Wolf--my good friend and former colleague here in the House of Representatives--has been an indefatigable defender of human rights and human dignity. To add to the list of his many accomplishments, Frank recently finished his term on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was established by the landmark International Religious Freedom Act he authored in 1998. Upon completion of his term, Frank wrote a compelling reflection on what remains to be done to strengthen and advance our work to ensure religious believers worldwide can faithfully practice their beliefs. As Frank's profound insights provide an excellent blueprint for religious freedom advocates the world over, I include in the Record his statement in its entirety. In May I finished my term on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and I want to offer some thoughts for action going forward which I believe could help promote religious freedom internationally and domestically. The recently released Pew Survey on religious freedom reports that over 80% of the world's population lives in a religiously repressive environment, up from 70% in 2009. We see religious persecution in China, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, Cuba and many other countries. All one has to do is look at the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report, which documents that people of all faiths and beliefs are being persecuted in many places around the globe. In our own country, we see troubling violations of religious freedom--Christian schools and churches facing threats, assaults on parental rights, the FBI visiting pro- life families, some businesses canceling people and organizations because of their political and religious beliefs, and Jewish students facing rampant antisemitism on American college campuses. We witness an insidious relativism that teaches that concepts of right and wrong are old- fashioned and even judgmental. Vices are elevated, virtues are mocked, and faith is squeezed out of the public square. Our culture is coarsened because of it. The late Cardinal Francis George, former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Archbishop of Chicago, predicted in 2012, ``I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.'' At the time I thought this was alarmist, but seeing what is happening today, his statement gives me pause. Cardinal George went on to say, ``This tendency for the government to claim for itself authority over all areas of human experience flows from a secularization of our culture. If God cannot be part of public life, then the state itself plays God.'' Chuck Colson warned us of many of these things in his later writings, especially ``My Final Word,'' which was published posthumously and was almost prophetic about the world we now face. I believe the following three ideas would help in the fight for international and domestic religious freedom. First. There should be a total ban on lobbying for China. One of the recommendations on China in the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report reads ``The U.S. Congress should: Ban foreign lobbying by agents representing the Chinese government and its state- affiliated commercial entities that undermine religious freedom and related human rights.'' At the end of the China section, there is an additional view signed by all nine Commissioners, both Republican and Democrat, that shows how China is involved in the persecution of all religious groups in their own country and shows their influence around the world. It states: ``It is imperative to ban lobbying for the Chinese government, its state-affiliated commercial entities, and their interests while the government continues its egregious acts of religious persecution. These harsh actions impact every faith group in China with the leaders of the Catholic Church and Protestant house churches imprisoned and even `disappeared.' Cultural genocide devastates Tibet where Buddhist monks die in prison. Physical genocide ravishes Uyghur Muslims, with millions in detention camps and children taken from their parents. Organs are harvested from Falun Gong and Uyghurs, some while still alive. Hong Kong represses Christians, including 92-year-old Cardinal Zen. China's influence spreads worldwide. China supports Iran, which provided training and weapons for the attacks on Israel by Hamas and they supply arms to Hezbollah and the Houthis. China aids Russia in its war on Ukraine and supports North Korea, one of the world's worst religious persecutors. China supports both Nicaragua and Cuba where Christians are being aggressively persecuted. Concerns are rising over China threatening to attack Taiwan, which many experts believe may lead to direct U.S. involvement and the loss of American military lives. Amidst all of this, the words of 18th-century British parliamentarian William Wilberforce about the evils of the slave trade come to mind: `You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you do not know.' Congress cannot look the other way. For the good of our country and religious freedom worldwide, Congress must ban lobbying for the Chinese government and its interests.'' Recently I attended the ROTC commissioning ceremony at the University of Virginia for all military service branches. I was impressed that these young men and women are stepping forward to serve our country. To think that anyone could lobby for an adversary like China that could lead us into war and put these young people in peril is unacceptable. There must be a total ban on lobbying for China. Second. Do everything possible to help and support groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty, the Becket Fund, and other outstanding groups that pursue legal action in defense of religious freedom so they can bring more cases to protect individuals and groups facing religious discrimination and establish legal precedent that carries the weight of law. Frankly, these groups have been more effective than Congress in preserving religious freedom and they need the resources necessary to expand their work. This should include fighting the rapidly rising antisemitism we are seeing around the world. We currently have the best Supreme Court we are likely to have for a generation. This is leading to dangerous efforts to pack the court which must be resisted. Religious freedom cases reaching the Supreme Court today are generally successful, but these cases can take up to five years to work their way through the courts. It is an expensive proposition to carry a case from pre-filing through many appeals and to the Supreme Court. That is why these groups need help and support for the long term. Many people of faith are unaware that they can protect their First Amendment freedom of religion through the active use of the courts. Many people and houses of worship do not have the resources to bring cases on their own. The fact that people don't know their rights, nor have the resources to defend those rights, encourages school boards, government agencies, the military, employers, and others to discriminate as they believe their actions will not be challenged. For a more in-depth study of this, see Judge Ken Starr's excellent book, ``Religious Liberty in Crisis.'' Perhaps an 800-telephone number and email address could be set up and advertised on Christian and other religious media for people to contact for help with their religious discrimination complaints. Third. While many groups have their own government affairs outreach, which is good, many groups are too small to support their own lobbying efforts. I believe there should be a lobbying firm set up in Washington to focus entirely on international and domestic religious freedom issues. The firm should be staffed by former high-level Congressional Hill staffers from both the House and Senate who know the inner workings of the Congress and government agencies. These would be people who worked on key committees and in Senate and House leadership offices. Working with religious freedom advocacy groups they would be another set of eyes and ears on the Hill, following and helping shape legislation dealing with international and domestic religious freedom. A board of directors made up of various religious freedom groups could oversee the work of this firm. I believe this would be a direct help to all groups working on these issues. There have been very few successes lately on Capitol Hill to further religious freedom. In the international arena, some countries that have been designated by USCIRF as egregious violators of religious freedom have been given massive amounts of U.S. foreign aid and some have expensive lobbying efforts in Washington. USCIRF has worked in a bipartisan way and has been faithful in its mission of researching, reporting, and naming international religious rights violators. Yet at the same time, USCIRF has seen its budget frozen, even cut, and it has not received the necessary permanent or long-term reauthorization from Congress. Having worked on religious freedom issues for many years, I believe these steps would make a significant difference here in the United States and around the world. I share these thoughts with the hope that the religious freedom community will take on some of these ideas to help advance the cause of religious freedom and improve the lives of those who are persecuted. Frank Wolf, June 2024.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4132, the Falun Gong Protection Act, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Rep. Scott Perry. The issue of the forced harvesting of human organs is one that is so horrific, and so evil, that it has truly consumed me ever since evidence of the practice began to trickle out at the end of the last century. I held a congressional hearing in 2012 that focused on ``Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party,'' though as early as 1998, witnesses at hearings I chaired had testified to the taking of organs from executed prisoners by Chinese government officials. This heinous practice soon matriculated to the most cruel instrument of religious and political persecution, targeting in particular peaceful practitioners of the Falun Gong religion. I co-convened a follow-up hearing in June of 2016 on ``Organ Harvesting: An Examination of a Brutal Practice.'' I noted at the time that the gruesome practice was not limited to the People's Republic of China--ISIS, for example, issued fatwas allowing the harvesting of organs of ``infidels,'' and Eritrean trafficking victims who could not produce sufficient funds were placed on a gurney and carved up in human chop shops in the Sinai peninsula. Yet by far and away the most systematic, and state-sanctioned harvesting of human organs, has occurred in Communist China. In 2022, a meta study came out in the American Journal of Transplantation that examined over 2,800 Chinese language academic articles concluding that Chinese transplant surgeons had routinely violated the ``dead donor'' rule, unethically removing organs before victims had been declared brain dead. Since 2015, data indicated that Chinese hospitals have performed many times more organ transplants than the highest estimates of ethically-available donors can account for. I thus invited one of the authors of that study, Dr. Matthew Robertson, to testify at a hearing I convened at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on ``Forced Organ Harvesting in China: Examining the Evidence.'' Finally, just this past March, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing which I chaired on ``Stopping the Crime of Organ Harvesting--What More Must Be Done?'' Shockingly, one of our witnesses, Dr. Maya Mitalipova, from MIT, implicated an American company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, in selling kits to identify human leukocyte antigens and other DNA profiling products in China, which enables the finding of compatible organ matches, to be obtained forcibly from hapless and helpless ``donors,'' killed for their organs. Beyond the hearings I have held over the years, I introduced the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act in 2021, and again reintroduced this bill at the beginning of this Congress. Indeed, our legislation passed out of the House over a year ago, in March of 2023, and has been languishing in the Senate since then. I view Rep. Perry's and my legislation as complementary, and I call upon the House to pass Mr. Perry's bill, and the Senate to move H.R. 1154, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, so that it can arrive on the President's desk for his signature. Finally, I note that the just-released State Department 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report has focused its attention on the trafficking of persons for the purpose of organ removal as a topic of special interest, citing reports of systematic, forcible removal of organs from political prisoners by the government of the People's Republic of China. That the State Department did so I believe was in part due to the pressure imposed by Congress, which underscores the importance of what we are doing here today. I therefore call upon the House to pass H.R. 4132, and the Senate to move H.R. 1154 onto the President's desk.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker. I wish to add my voice of support for H.R. 7152, the Korean American Divided Families National Registry Act, introduced by Rep. Jennifer Wexton and Rep. Michelle Steel, good friends and colleagues of mine on the Congressional- Executive Commission on China. This bill is a very tender-hearted one, for it recognizes the pain which still lingers so many decades after the Korean War Armistice, which divided family members in the North from those in the South. By creating a registry of those who wish to be united with family members, this bill recognizes the depth of that pain, while offering hope that at some point in the future, a more permanent reunion may be possible. It also harbors no illusions about the Kim regime in the Communist North, requiring that our State Department raise the reunion issue in any dialogue between the U.S. and the North, in consultation with our ally, the Republic of Korea, without allowing the North the ability to use this emotionally fraught issue as leverage in negotiations. In other words, the aims of this bill are limited, and tempered by an understanding of the political dynamics on the peninsula, while taking a practical step towards eventual reunion of family members. I ask my colleagues to join me in support, and I commend Reps. Wexton and Steel for this effort to help Korean-American families,

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the gentlewoman's amendment, which would overturn the illegal DOD abortion travel policy. Current federal law prevents DOD from paying for elective abortion while permitting it in the case of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. But the Biden DOD abortion travel policy forces taxpayers to pay the transportation costs for military members and dependents to travel to procure an abortion, for any reason, right up until the moment of birth. There is nothing humane or benign about abortion. Abortion is not healthcare, unless one construes the precious life of an unborn child analogous to a tumor to be excised or a disease to be vanquished. Regrettably, the pro-abortion culture of denial--a modern-day flat earth socity--continues to deny, devalue, and disrespect unborn baby girls and boys and trivialize the harm suffered by women. We must recognize the breathtaking miracle of the newly created life of an unborn child and that women deserve better than abortion. We need to care for and love them both. Future generations will someday look back on us and wonder how and why a society that bragged about its commitment to human rights could have legally sanctioned and aggressively promoted child beheadings, dismemberment, and abortion pills that literally starve the child to death. Don't force taxpayers to facilitate abortion on demand.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I first thank Mr. Lawler for his very, very passionate and articulate defense of our Jewish brethren. It was very, very moving, and I thank him for that. Mr. Speaker, 42 years ago, my first human rights trip as a Congressman was to the Soviet Union to defend Jews against pernicious anti-Semitism. I never thought, however, that the anti-Semitic hate that I saw in Moscow and Leningrad could ever happen here, but it has. It is happening, and it is escalating. The bigotry, intolerance, prejudice, and unbridled hatred for Jews and the Nation of Israel exploding on American college campuses today is absolutely disgraceful. It is morally impermissible and illegal that Jewish students are the targets of anti-Semitic hate and violence. In both word and deed, Hamas is a terrorist organization that commits mass murder of Jews and seeks the evisceration of Israel. Don't believe it? Remember the horrific violence of October 7 and the ongoing ordeal of the hostages, or just read the Hamas Charter of 1988, the blueprint for genocide against Jews, a modern-day Nazi-like final solution. As co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I thank my good friends and colleagues, Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer, for authoring the Antisemitism Awareness Act. This important legislation will codify the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism into title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark antidiscrimination law. Schools that receive Federal funds must comply with title VI, and this bill will clarify that the Hamas hatred infecting our campuses must be dealt with as anti-Semitic discrimination that violates civil rights. Special thanks, Mr. Speaker, to the police, who at great risk to their own personal safety are trying to mitigate the threats to Jewish students.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone to join us in a moment of silent prayer for our deceased colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise, along with my colleagues, to convey our deepest sorrow on the passing of our good friend, six-term, New Jersey Congressman, Donald Payne, Jr. of the 10th Congressional District. We are grateful for his public service, and offer our prayers and condolences to his wife, Beatrice, and their children, Donald III, Jack, and Yvonne. Like his father before him--Congressman Donald Payne, Sr., who I served with and who was also a great man--Donald Jr. was a dedicated public servant who tirelessly and tenaciously worked to improve the lives of New Jersey families, especially the poor. He was a kind and compassionate lawmaker who cared deeply for the people of his district, our State, the country, those in need, and especially the sick. As a diabetic, he fought to lower the cost of insulin. He wrote the House-passed Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act and the Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act to provide full coverage for PAD to help reduce amputations. His TEST for Lead Act was designed to protect children from lead- contaminated drinking water in schools, and he wrote the DHS Interoperable Communications Act that became law in July 2015. As chairman and then ranking member of the House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, Donald helped lead the charge to improve America's transportation infrastructure, played a key role in securing the Gateway project, and was a powerful ally of Amtrak. Donald Payne served two terms on the Newark City Council, including as president, and beginning in 2005, three terms as an Essex County freeholder, which we now call county commissioner. Donald Payne, Jr. will be deeply missed. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) for any comments he may have.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the United States must make absolutely clear in both word and deed, not just today but every day, and without equivocation that we stand with Israel. Both defensive weapons systems like Iron Dome and David's Sling and all necessary offensive military capabilities must be conveyed without delay to Israel for as long as it takes to defeat Hamas and deter Iran, Hezbollah, and other radical Islamists. Of significance, H.R. 8034 prohibits aid to Gaza from flowing through UNRWA, an anti-Semitic and disgraceful organization that teaches Palestinian children to hate Jews and glorifies suicidal martyrdom and the evisceration of Israel as a state. UNRWA is a child soldier factory that we have funded for decades. Twenty-one years ago on this floor, in 2003, I offered an amendment that passed the House to defund UNRWA. The Senate never acted. A few weeks ago, the Foreign Affairs Committee passed my bill to stop UNRWA funding. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for bringing this bill to the floor. It defunds UNRWA. Israel has an absolute right to exist free from aggression and anti- Semitic hate.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, a bill whose passage is essential to our national security. By far and away, the greatest threat to world peace since the fall of the Soviet Union is a Communist China that seeks to displace the United States as global hegemon, while nursing historical grievances over past humiliations by nations of the West. The People's Republic of China is not simply a strategic rival of the United States, but a systemic one, which seeks to rewrite the entire rules-based international order and recreate it in its own image. To that end, it has targeted Taiwan, known formally as the Republic of China. The strategic importance of Taiwan in countering the Chinese Communist Party's hegemonistic ambitions cannot be overstated. It is the anchor of the first island chain, stretching from Japan to the Philippines, and it is a major economic and trade power in its own right. It dominates the semiconductor supply chain, integral to our economic and security well-being. But more than that, it is a beacon of hope for the Chinese people, a bastion of democracy and freedom and a rebuke to the narrative of Xi Jinping and the CCP that the Chinese tradition is inimical to democracy and human rights. Taiwan, like Israel, is an absolutely key strategic ally in a dangerous part of the world. To keep the peace, we must ensure that it has the arms necessary to defend itself, and we must stand by it against any cross-Strait aggression. Congress' commitment to Taiwan is longstanding, and it is important that we reaffirm that today, so as to underscore to the regime on the Chinese mainland that there is can be no doubt or ambiguity--strategic or otherwise--regarding that commitment. As the bedrock Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 clearly stated, we are committed to resisting ``any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people in Taiwan. Ronald Reagan constantly and consistently stated that we achieve ``Peace through strength.'' It is that strength--and the willingness to resort to force of arms-- that keeps the peace, paradoxical as that may seem to some. Towards that end, we need to be prepared. That is why I in the House and Marco Rubio in the Senate introduced the Taiwan Protection and National Resilience Act, first in 2022 and then again in this Congress. That bill calls for a strategy to counter any coercive action by Communist China towards Taiwan. It is why I introduced an amendment to last year's NDAA which called for assisting Taiwan in developing an asymmetric naval self-defense capability, enhanced by small, high speed, long-range, extreme-weather- capable, reduced-radar-signature boats. Another idea whose time has come is developing a technology security alliance with Taiwan and our other allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea. We would create a trade network that provides a realistic alternative to China, providing a shield against any coercion by China. Former Taiwan Legislative Yuan member Jason Hsu has championed that idea, and it is a good one. Finally, there is a backlog in sending weapons and ordnance to Taiwan, some $19 billion worth, due to our commitments elsewhere, and due to bureaucratic and production bottlenecks. Co-production--the building of weapons in Taiwan, under contract, from drones to small boats to missiles--is something that needs to be done, so that Taiwan can deter mainland aggression. Let us unequivocally state: we stand with the people of Taiwan, and our Indo-Pacific allies. I will vote in favor of H.R. 8036 and urge my colleagues to do the same.