Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate and commend the athletes, managers, staff members and outstanding fans of the Manasquan High School Big Blue Warriors' Basketball Program. The 2023-2024 season had moments of great excitement and profound heartbreak, but there is no doubt that both the boys and girls teams demonstrated true grit and sportsmanship to the delight of sports fans across the Garden State--and perhaps the entire country. First, let me congratulate the members of Manasquan's girls Group 2 state-wide championship team In a rout, on March 9th the Warriors defeated Madison with a nearly 2-1 victory of 47-26. Coach Lisa Kukoda led her fiery squad to the championship title with the Warrior team after wrapping up a tremendous 26-5 wins over losses on the season. Likewise, the boys team, under the leadership of Coach Andrew Bilodeau, had a tremendous win-loss record on the season--finishing with 23 wins to 7 losses. The players on both teams displayed talent, dedication, tenacity, skill and the hearts of champions. But this year the boys team was challenged to go to the highest levels of sportsmanship, humility and grace--and they met the challenge. Despite clear and compelling video evidence proving the timeliness of a Warrior's game-winning shot--at the buzzer in the semi-finals--the refs reversed their call and gave the game away. Ultimately, they denied the Warriors their rightful advancement to the state finals--an unbelievable turn of events. At some point in his or her career, every athlete must wrestle with the agony of defeat. Few, however, are called upon to deal with a blown call that crowns a wrongful winner in the semi-finals. Today, no one believes that Manasquan lost that game. Yet when the powers that be refused to right the wrong, the Manasquan Warriors remained unfairly ``boxed out'' of their rightful victory. Especially worthy of note is this team's actions at the subsequent championship competition later that week Despite the great disappointment and emotion from players, family, fans and the community that the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) would not overturn what it acknowledged as an officiating error, Coach Bilodeau and his persevering Warriors attended the state finals game, showing the highest character and class. They congratulated Camden High--the inadvertent benefactors of the officiating miscue--and gave them a standing ovation upon their victory in the championship game. Such civility and strength of character is deeply admired, and it will serve these Warriors well in any and every future endeavor. Mr. Speaker, I believe I speak for all of my constituents in Manasquan when I say that we could not be prouder of the way both the girls and boys teams acted on and off the courts. To have both teams in the playoffs in the same year, in the same sport, in the same final days offered spectacular and legendary memories for fans and players alike. The Manasquan boys team's handling of the costly and admitted referees' error was remarkable and admirable. Still, reforms are needed at the NJSIAA who issued an apology but offered no justice. I strongly support the efforts at the state level, including by my good friend and Manasquan's Assemblyman Sean Kean, to help maintain the integrity of high school sports. Assemblyman Kean's legislation aims to prevent a similar situation from occurring again by prompting the use of instant replay in NJ playoff tournament basketball games. The National Federation of High School Sports guidelines allow state high school associations to use video replay during basketball championships. States other than NJ have done so since 2015. Mr. Speaker, both the Manasquan High School girls and boys teams give us reason to celebrate their achievements. Well done to all of the players, coaches and managers who make us proud. The 2023-2024 Manasquan High School Girls Basketball Varsity Program Members: Players Katie Collins, McKenna Karlson, Carlie Lapinski, Hope Masonius, Shea Donnelly, Shannon Heine, Grace Love, Olivia Shaughnessy, Ava Frith, Jordyn Hollawell, Lily Johnson, Shannon Looney, Logan McCarthy, Rose Latesta, Managers Kristina Walthall, Juliann Martell, Kylie Rothery, Kathy Minchala-Ramirez, Paige Donnelly, Caroline Watson, Findleigh Tuite, Head Coach Lisa Kukoda; Assistant Coaches Keara Homan, Rich Kirk, Sarah Kurtz, Joe Roman, Bill Shaughnessy. The 2023-2024 Manasquan High School Boys Basketball Varsity Program Members. Players Ryan Frauenheim, Alex Konov, Jason Larned, Ryan Mulvaney, Luke Roy, Mike Nitta, Julian Walthall, Dan McManus, Griffin Linstra, Matteo Chiarella, Brandon Kunz, Keegan Hertel, Jack O'Reilly, Jack Lattimer, Logan Cleveland, Rey Weinseimer, Managers Rylie Eldridge, Sophia Bilodeau, Reagan Prime, Lily McKiever, Charlotte Michko, Head Coach Andrew Bilodeau, Assistant Coaches Ryan Ritchey, Colin Eldridge, Sean Fitzgerald, Ed Breheny, Jack Heenan, Bob Wright. Under the direction of Manasquan Superintendent of Schools Dr Frank Kasyan, High School Principal Robert Goodall, Athletic Director Donald Bramley, and Athletic Trainer Kevin Hyland.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by our colleagues Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi. It is aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to sway public opinion in its favor--especially that of the younger generation--through the use of the social media app TikTok, as well as to counter the use of the app to collect data on Americans. Indeed, just this last week we saw a real time demonstration of the insidious use of TikTok: the targeting of American children with Communist Party propaganda--during school hours--and the recruiting of minors to act unwittingly as foreign agents of the Chinese Communist Party. On March 7, members of Congress--including me--were inundated with a phone call advocacy campaign that utilized children while we were debating the efforts of the CCP to sabotage the American economy. And the CCP connection with TikTok and its Chinese parent is something that is very tangible. TikTok's parent ByteDance, headquartered in Bejing, is compelled to participate in a strategic partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Indeed, under China's Cybersecurity Law, companies are required to provide any information asked for to police or intelligence agencies. One former ByteDance official, Yintao Yu, has said that the CCP has access to all the company's data--including data stored in the U.S. Indeed TikTok has conceded as much--just look at the company's privacy policy, which says it can share user data with ByteDance and various governments around the world if required: ``We may disclose any of the Information we collect to respond to . . . government inquires,'' as well as to ``comply with any applicable law.'' We also know that the CCP has punished executives and companies that do not tow the Party line--just ask Jack Ma, one of the richest men in the world, what happens when you buck the Party. Indeed, ByteDance, like many Chinese companies, has an internal Communist Party Committee within its corporate structure, which is led by ByteDance Vice President Zhang Fuping. So what is TikTok's response to all this? After being deluged with phone calls in my office, that very day, I wrote to TikTok, at their American headquarters in Culver City, California, asking them to provide all internal documentation relating to the ``genesis, approval and execution of the advocacy campaign initiated by TikTok on March 7,'' so that Congress may determine the role of the CCP in recruiting children to lobby Congress on its behalf. Four days later, TikTok Vice President for Public Policy Michael Beckerman responded, with piratical defiance, claiming that congressional interest in this issue was ``offensive'' and ``patently false.'' Really? You don't think that this is an issue that is in the national interest? We shall see about that. I will vote in favor of H.R. 7521 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

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

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

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I thank my good friend and colleague for her efforts. We have worked together on so many human rights issues, including combating anti- Semitism and other important human rights issues and trafficking. She was a star when we had our hearings on this. I thank her for her eloquent defense of the victims, as well as trying to stop the perpetrators of these horrible crimes. At a congressional hearing--one of the ones I was talking about just now with my good friend and colleague--that I chaired last May, a woman by the name of Gina Cavallo, an amazing, courageous woman from my home State of New Jersey, told us how she suffered unspeakable violence, including rape, beatings, coercive drug abuse, and other torture as her traffickers sold her like a commodity from one buyer to another. This is only a part of her testimony, but it goes right to the heart of what we are talking about. She testified: ``It is so critical that survivors are heard.'' She said that the Frederick Douglass Act is a result of listening. We listened to her and other human trafficking victims, and much of what we have here tonight has been informed by their insights. Gina Cavallo told us that she is a survivor of domestic violence and childhood abuse. That experience as a child led me to a place where I felt ashamed, unloved, and rejected. It also led me to being trafficked. Force, fraud, and coercion were all used by someone who pretended to be my friend but ultimately abducted me into being trafficked. For nearly 2 years from the age of 18, I was prostituted and sold to the highest bidder and raped over and over again. My identity was taken, as I was given a new name. Sleep deprivation, threats of violence, pornography, drugs, and food were all used as punishment and reward, leading to my traffickers taking psychological control over me. Does this sound like anything that a young person dreams of for their future? Being stripped and robbed of your mind and body, your humanity, your dignity, and respect? She goes on to say: I became a commodity to be used for others' gain. But I often blamed myself for my situation because I believed it was my fault. Mr. Speaker, I have heard this. I know my good friend, Karen, has heard this, as well as other Members in this Chamber. So often the trafficking victims say: Oh, it is my fault. It is not. They have been coerced, deceived, and drugged often into this terrible, terrible trafficking situation. She goes on to say: As a victim, I was taught to distrust family and friends, and, especially, law enforcement. The more they isolated me, the more fear I felt and the more control they gained, which is very intentional. It took decades for me to identify that I was a victim. I learned through counseling and by my continuous healing journey that what happened to me wasn't my fault. As a victim, I was left with a lifetime sentence: ruined relationships, addiction, hospital visits, suicide attempts, lack of jobs and education--and also left with shame and fear. In her testimony, Gina said: But what you especially can do as lawmakers is to ensure that in every aspect of your work to end trafficking that you put forward measures mandating widespread survivor-informed and trauma-informed training. She goes on: We need to create a safer country where people can come forward without stigma to reveal their experiences. No one should feel the double victimization of being trafficked, as well as feeling that they stay silent because of shame, fear, and not feeling safe. Today, Gina is a brave survivor with an indomitable spirit. She works in coalitions, including the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking and others, and she speaks to many school assemblies. Mr. Speaker, believe me, when she speaks, those students listen. In writing the Frederick Douglass Act, we listened to her and others, and we were moved. Of course, it helped us get it right. Again, that situational training is at the core of this particular bill to educate our young people. I say to all my colleagues that there are curricula out there, and the Frederick Douglass Foundation has curricula. Go to your schools and go to your police departments and say: Please, will you take a look at this and have a day or two or more of training so that the young people of elementary and secondary age, and it also applies to college and higher education, that they know how to defend themselves, and if they see a friend at risk to intervene quickly before the traffickers get them on drugs and hurt them and hurt them severely. Mr. Speaker, I see we are pretty much out of time, so I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation. ``One of the most important things I tell fellow survivors is, `You are not alone,' '' said Judge Robert Lung, former Chair of the US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. ``The TVPRA is your opportunity to tell survivors, `You are not alone, you matter and Congress cares.' Those may be the most life changing and important words spoken in this legislative session. May God continue to bless Congress.'' ``I am proud of Congressman Smith and his staff for drafting H.R. 5856, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023,'' said Bella Hounakey, survivor leader, expert and member of US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. ``I feel very empowered and I am convinced that while I can't make a difference alone, I'm renewed and rejoice that there are organizations and politicians like Mr. Smith who are running towards survivors, instead of away from them. H.R. 5856 would continue to give voice and space for ethical storytelling to ensure that the public is well informed and prepared to act, and that survivors deserve our undivided attention and support. H.R. 5856 would allow survivors to develop their-- our narrative, one that is tailored to the unique needs and sensitivities of our community while continuing to fight trafficking in all its forms.'' ``The Frederick Douglass TVPRA of 2023 is essential for maintaining and improving the US response to the heinous crime of human trafficking. As a country we mustn't slow down the critical work we're doing to punish criminals and ensure that those victimized are given access to support and justice.''--Gina Cavallo, Survivor Consultant for New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking ``Human trafficking is a heinous crime that robs individuals of their dignity, freedom, and basic human rights,'' said Ashlie Bryant, CEO, 3Strands Global Foundation. ``The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 is a critical step in our ongoing efforts to combat modern slavery. By reauthorizing and strengthening the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, we reaffirm our commitment to preventing trafficking, protecting survivors, and prosecuting perpetrators. This legislation underscores the importance of comprehensive, coordinated efforts to address trafficking both domestically and internationally, reflecting our collective responsibility to uphold human dignity and ensure justice for all.'' ``In 2000, Congress passed the groundbreaking Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)--the first comprehensive federal law to address human trafficking,'' said Sharon Payt, Vice President of US Corporate and Government Partnerships, International Justice Mission. ``In the over two decades since, the anti-trafficking movement has expanded and strengthened with continued, bipartisan leadership from Congress and the US government, including formation of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Reauthorizing the TVPA is an important signal to our global neighbors that the US government remains committed to ending human trafficking. IJM is grateful to Congressman Chris Smith for his persistent dedication to this crucial issue.'' ``The US has the world's most comprehensive governmental effort to fight human trafficking, and this law is the reason why,'' said Terry FitzPatrick, Director, Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST). ``It's the blueprint for comprehensive action at home and abroad. Updating and reauthorizing the act is essential to maintaining America's leadership.'' ``Hope for Justice supports the TVPA because of the robust opportunities it provides trafficking survivors to reenter society in a meaningful and deserved way. As a global organization, we are particularly thrilled with the section that addresses fighting human trafficking abroad that would allow for increased opportunity for grant funding, and expansion of prevention efforts internationally. We have seen immense results from our programs globally, and this bill will help organizations like ours continue to impact survivors worldwide. This horrific criminal enterprise has left so many survivors in its wake, and it's time we give them the support they deserve to flourish as they heal.''-- Sarah Butler, U.S. Program Director, Hope for Justice ``The Frederick Douglass TVPA's Employment and Education Program stands as a proven testament to the transformative impact of second chances for trafficking survivors. With provisions for job training, education, expungement assistance, scholarships, and case management, this initiative stands to positively shape the lives, families, and communities of survivors by offering hope and opportunity after the trauma of human trafficking.''--Tasha Kennard, CEO, Thistle Farms ``Empowering our educators and equipping our youth with the tools to recognize and prevent human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse is not just a moral imperative; it's a strategic necessity. The Frederick Douglass TVPA bill provides vital resources through grants for prevention education, enabling the frontlines of our education system to get ahead of trafficking before it ensnares another innocent life. This is why The Foundation United is dedicated to this effort and why we vehemently support this bill. Prevention is the only way to get upstream and eradicate this grave human rights violation.''--Elizabeth Fisher Good, CEO, The Foundation United ``The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act is a flagship piece of human rights legislation, and one that is critical to combat the scourge and horror of human trafficking. Every man, woman, and child is made in the image of God, and every effort to compel or coerce someone into labor or commercial sex is an abomination. The dark underbelly of this global illness must be brought into the light and exposed, so that justice can be applied. It is imperative that the United States be a part of the solution in this area, not the problem.''--Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, Family Research Council ``Congressman Smith's TVPA has shaped the domestic and international anti-trafficking landscape since 2000 creating empowering programs for survivors and strengthening efforts to prosecute traffickers. Since 2018 his law has been named after my ancestor, Frederick Douglass, thereby emphasizing education and resilience as effective means to prevent human trafficking among children, prevent re-trafficking of survivors, and provide support and hope to survivors in their journeys toward self-empowerment. In the words of my great-great-great grandfather and the great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass--enslavement is a scourge on humanity that ``to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death. Expose slavery, and it dies.'' This wisdom holds to today in the form of human trafficking, the modern-day slavery. Since 2008 we have provided anti-trafficking education programming and trained more than 60,000 adults and over 500,000 children teaching them to be aware of human trafficking and learn the skills to keep themselves safe from harm. It is after all ``easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.'' Passage of the Smith/Wild bill will allow us and many other organizations to continue the necessary work of combatting human trafficking and honoring the lives of so many effected by it in the U.S. and abroad.''

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, more than 20 years ago, the U.S. Congress approved and the President signed historic legislation that I authored known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, a comprehensive, whole-of- government initiative to combat sex and labor trafficking in the United States and around the world. The TVPA created a bold, new domestic and international antihuman trafficking strategy and established numerous new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and to the extent possible, prevent human trafficking in the first place--what we call the three Ps. Though it is hard to believe now, the TVPA was met with a wall of skepticism and opposition--dismissed by many as a solution in search of a problem. For most people at that time, including some lawmakers, the term ``trafficking'' applied almost exclusively to drugs and weapons, not to human beings. Reports of vulnerable persons, especially women and children, being reduced to commodities for sale were often met with surprise, incredulity, or indifference. The bill was finally signed into law on October 28, 2000, and within a year after enactment, no one was arguing anymore that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's integrated 3Ps strategy--prevention, protection for victims, and prosecution of the traffickers--was flawed, unworkable, unnecessary, or counterproductive. The TVPA included several sea change criminal code reforms, including treating as a victim--and not a perpetrator of a crime--anyone exploited by a commercial sex act who had not attained the age of 18 and anyone older where there was an element of force, fraud, or coercion. The TVPA radically reformed the U.S. criminal code to authorize asset confiscation, as well as jail sentences of up to life imprisonment. Thousands of human traffickers have been prosecuted and jailed pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, including--although he never came to trial--all charges brought against Jeffrey Epstein. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking more than doubled from 2011 to 2021-- from 729 persons to 1,672 persons, respectively. Among its many provisions, the Act also created the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office, and the annual TIP Report. I encourage my colleagues to look at it and read it, at least when they are traveling, especially, or meeting with delegations from other countries. Read the TIP Report and find out where that country that you are going to visit or whose lawmakers or diplomats you are going to meet, where they stand in terms of what they are doing with regards to trafficking. It also calls for serious and sustained efforts to eliminate human trafficking. If they don't, and if they have a really horrific record, they get put on Tier 3 for egregious violators, and they are subject to sanctions. Over the years, I have authored four additional laws, including in 2003, 2005, 2016--that was the International Megan's Law--and in 2019, Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act. We are reauthorizing that and the underlying TVPA today. Today, the House considers a 5-year reauthorization named after and in honor of the great abolitionist and civil rights leader, Frederick Douglass. Special thanks are in order to our original cosponsors, including Chairman McCaul; subcommittee Ranking Member Susan Wild; as well as Kathy Manning, who is managing over on the Democratic side tonight; Ann Wagner; Henry Cuellar; Joe Wilson; Amata Radewagen; and Michael Burgess, all original cosponsors of the bill. A special thank you to the extraordinarily talented staffers, including Mary Vigil, to my left, who did an amazing job on this; Janice Kaguyutan; Mary Noonan; Doug Anderson; and survivors Bella Hanoukey and Robert Lung, who also provided tremendous insight. A heartfelt thanks to the over 20 organizations that have provided insight, recommendations, and have endorsed this legislation. Terry FitzPatrick, for example, the director of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, a consortium of various groups, has said on behalf of them: The U.S. has the world's most comprehensive governmental effort to fight human trafficking, and this law is the reason why. It is the blueprint for comprehensive action at home and abroad. Updating and reauthorizing the act is essential to maintaining America's leadership. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly endorsed the legislation and asked Congress to approve the measure ``without further delay.'' Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso stated: We must unite to identify and address conditions that lead to human trafficking and promote efforts to prevent it. A great big thank you to Kenneth Morris. This man is the great-great- great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington. He runs a group called Family Initiatives, and he has been such a great source and inspiration for this legislation. He has said that this legislation, named after his ancestor, emphasizes education and resilience as an effective means to prevent human trafficking among children, prevent retrafficking of survivors, and provide support and hope to survivors in their journeys toward self-empowerment. Mr. Morris goes on to say: In the words of my great-great-great grandfather and the great American abolitionist Fred Douglass: Enslavement is a scourge on humanity. To expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death. Expose slavery, he goes on to say, and it dies. He goes on to say: This wisdom is in the form of human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery. Since 2008, he points out that they have helped and trained 60,000 adults and 500,000 children in the skills of keeping themselves safe from harm. This legislation has provisions in it to make our young people situationally aware, from elementary and secondary school, so that everyone knows what the traffickers do, how horrible their schemes are, their nefarious organizations, what they do with drugs, and other ways of enticing young people. The next thing you know, they are trafficked and are in modern-day slavery. Let me also point out that the bill seeks to promote, as I said, situational awareness. It also authorizes survivors' employment, housing, and education programs. It authorizes a program for housing. One of the things we find is that when a woman or a man--most are women--are liberated, where do they go? They need help. We do have programs in existence. This will redirect some of those funds to help them get a house, a home, so that they are less likely and less vulnerable to being retrafficked. It makes scalable programs through training of the trainers, in collaboration with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It encourages the usage of prevention efforts to include accessible, age- appropriate, and trauma-informed approaches for USAID beneficiaries and further incorporates counter-trafficking efforts across our development portfolio. We know for a fact that it is a problem in developing countries, where sometimes even the peacekeepers engage. I had hearings and worked on it. There was another one the other day that John James chaired about peacekeepers, the fact that sometimes they become the ones who engage in trafficking and abuse young people. It streamlines statutory language for the Tier 2 Watch List and reauthorizes the Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. There is also language in it about organ harvesting. Last March, we passed legislation to really combat this horrible organ harvesting debacle where, especially in China, they are killing 28-year-olds, the average age, whether it be Falun Gong or Uyghurs, to steal their hearts, lungs, and livers, especially livers. Unfortunately, it is a big business for the Chinese Communist Party, so we put language in this that will be part of the TIP report. It also reauthorizes the International Megan's Law. What is that? Back in 1994, a little girl who used to be in my district, Hamilton Township, New Jersey, was killed by a convicted pedophile who was out of prison and lived across the street, who buried her after horribly abusing her. Every one of our States has a Megan's law, and they work really well. We found that many of the convicted pedophiles get a passport and travel in child sex tourism. I wrote a law that took 8 years to get passed. Three times it passed in the House. The Senate did not want to hear about it, but it finally got passed. That said a number of things, including before they travel, these individuals have to register with the U.S. Government, and we inform the country of destination that they soon will be coming. If they want to say no, you can't come in, that is exactly what happens; they don't get to go to that country. It is run by the Angel Watch Center. They do a magnificent job and I thank them. The law is working. According to Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, the U.S. Government has notified foreign governments of the planned travel of 27,679 covered sex offenders, and it has not been in effect that long. As of late January, 9,489 individuals convicted of sex crimes against children were denied entry into those nations. We have taken the secrecy out of traveling, to some extent, and these countries are empowered to say: Look who is coming. You are not getting in to abuse our children. We also put language in it that allows for stamping the passport to make sure that if they do lie and they get in, it is on the passport that they are a covered sex offender. Mr. Speaker, I have much more to say, but I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, November 29, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 5856, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 5856 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman.

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

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5856) to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend Mr. Lawler for authoring the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, which amends the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 to apply its provisions also to international governmental organizations. When this bill becomes law, it will prevent U.S. companies from supporting boycotts of U.S. allies if those boycotts are promoted or imposed by intergovernmental organizations. What is at issue here are boycotts of Israel organized by the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement, has enlisted the United Nations and European Union into its attempt to blacklist Israel--really to make Israel into a pariah state. I thank Mr. Lawler as this bill will be a very effective tool in the global fight against antisemitism. As to the UN's blacklist, meant to be an authoritative guide to anti- Israel boycotters, it lists companies operating inside disputed territories--but the UN provides no similar list for any other disputed territory in the world. This is a clear double standard against Israel--it fails Natan Sharansky's ``3Ds'' test according to which we can see the antisemitism of actions toward Israel that apply a double standard against Israel, seek to delegitimize it, or demonize it. In the last 9 months I have chaired or co-chaired three hearings on the United Nations and its pervasive antisemitism. We have heard the testimony and seen the documentation. Make no mistake, antisemitic bigotry is at the root of the UN's hostility to Israel, which is ugly, evil, and manifests in almost every UN entity. The United Nations is unquestionably the world's foremost legitimizer of antisemitism, including in its most virulent and violent forms. The monstrous and genocidal atrocities we have seen pouring out of Gaza since October 7 are antisemitic hate crimes, the logical consequence of the unbridled antisemitism fomented and enabled by the United Nations.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I speak in strong support of H.R. 533, which would amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002. This bill was introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern, House ranking member on the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which I chair, along with Chairman McCaul. I am proud to be listed among the many cosponsors. Tibet and the Tibetan people face new and ever worsening challenges from the Chinese Communist Party's repressive rule. After decades of unspeakable cruelty by the Chinese Communist Party against Tibetans, we are seeing an increase that is occurring and an effort that looks just like genocide. Threats to Tibetan linguistic, religious, and cultural heritage have expanded exponentially in recent years, and now an estimated 80 percent of all children in the Tibet Autonomous Region are separated from their families and educated in a massive system of colonial boarding schools--separating them from parents and indoctrinating and brainwashing them each and every day. In recent years, Chinese police in Tibet have conducted mass DNA collection and iris scanning programs in wide swaths of Tibetan society, including in monasteries and primary schools, a sinister endeavor to harvest biometric data and one which implicated an American company, Thermo Fisher Scientific. While, thanks to pressure from many, including our commission, Thermo Fisher has announced it will cease cooperation in this area, though they still do business in China that is problematic. We need to drive home the message to American businesses: Stop cooperating with a brutal regime and stop subsidizing tyranny. Amid these threats to Tibetans in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party also seeks to extend its repressive reach abroad, targeting for surveillance and harassment Tibetan diaspora communities in the United States, India, and Nepal. The Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in crimes against humanity in Tibet and against Tibetans, plain and simple. I have chaired multiple hearings with my good friend and colleague, Mr. McGovern, at the Lantos Commission and at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, including one in March of last year, called ``Preserving Tibet: Combating Cultural Erasure, Forced Assimilation and Transnational Repression,'' which featured the Sikyong, the head of Tibet's government in exile, as well as Richard Gere, who is a passionate and amazingly articulate advocate for Tibet. This bill authorizes the State Department to take action to counter Chinese Communist propaganda directed against Tibet and its history and its institutions. For that reason alone, it ought to be strongly supported.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I would like to express my strong support for the Uyghur Policy Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. But more than expressing strong support for this necessary piece of legislation, all of us must continue to show strong support for the oppressed people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and beyond. This bill supplements both the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, passed in the last Congress, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, for which I was the lead Republican cosponsor. It is important that we call what the government of the People's Republic of China is doing to the Uyghurs by what it is--genocide. The bill does just that. The bill also would create a special coordinator for Uyghur issues at the State Department--something that I have long advocated for and tried to pass, for a special envoy really. Such a focus is particularly necessary, given the amount of repression directed by the Chinese Communist Party at the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim Central Asian people, including the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. Make no mistake, this is Xi Jinping's genocide; he is directly responsible for this. We know that there are recordings of him saying, ``show no mercy,'' as people are being dragged into concentration camps. Forced abortion, forced sterilization, and a whole host of human rights abuses are being committed right up to this very moment. We must not allow Xi Jinping to whitewash his crimes. We cannot allow U.S. businesses and business leaders to subsidize his genocide. This bill keeps the spotlight on one of this century's greatest crimes and I urge my colleagues to give it their strongest support.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his tremendous leadership on this and so many other important issues, including life issues. I thank Michelle Fischbach for her brave and courageous leadership, and our Speaker for making sure that this legislation got to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, at a New Jersey pregnancy resource center dinner, two women, through tears of joy, expressed their deep and abiding gratitude for the incredible love, respect, and care that persuaded them to reverse their decision to abort their babies. They spoke about how desperate they were, even hopeless. They spoke of the pressure that they felt to abort, until they met the director of the pregnancy resource center, who reached out to both of them in a gentle and nonjudgmental way. They chose life, and thanked God, the director, and the pregnancy resource center for helping them to avert the loss of their babies' lives. Then, two teenaged girls took to the podium and spoke about their lives--school, sports, friends--and their reverence for the sanctity of all human life. Near the end of their remarks--I didn't see this coming nor did many people in the room--they turned toward the director of the center and thanked her for being there for their moms through those difficult times and said: If you weren't there for them, we would be dead. Two wonderful young women talking about how without the pregnancy center, they would have been dead. There are more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers throughout the United States. Each and every one of them is an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care for both mothers and their precious children. Americans agree with the noble work of pregnancy care centers. The new Marist national poll, released just yesterday, found that 83 percent of all Americans, including 75 percent of Democrats, support--I say again support--pregnancy resource centers. There is a growing number of people throughout this country in this great human rights movement who really protect the unborn child and their mothers and stand with women and their children. We reject the violence of abortion, dismemberment, child beheadings, and abortion pills. How does the pill work? It literally starves the baby to death. That is how they die; they starve to death. Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach's legislation prohibits Biden's new policy proposal that discriminates against pregnancy resource centers. The bill, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act ensures that pregnancy resource centers cannot be excluded or restricted from receiving TANF funding as proposed by the rule that is being pushed by the President. The Biden administration and some Governors and lawmakers continue, Mr. Speaker, to smear and misrepresent the noble work of pregnancy resource centers. We can't allow that to happen.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, January 14, 2024, high school students, troupe members of New Jersey Thespians, will be honored for their leadership and contributions to a statewide program designed to help those facing food insecurity in our state. Their charitable efforts are part of a program known as Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat, a community service venture in which students participate statewide to make a difference and help their neighbors in need. In just one month, October 2023, this humanitarian effort collected over 8,953 pounds of food. Eleven New Jersey schools with 255 Thespians participated, including four from the Fourth Congressional District of New Jersey: Toms River North, Manasquan and Brick high schools, and Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy, all of which will be honored at a closing ceremony at Robbinsville High School. I note that Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat had been previously run by the Educational Theatre Association before being discontinued in 2018. However, the students and adults that make up the New Jersey Thespians State Board saw the value and impact of the program, stepped up and revived the 2018 effort into the program that we now honor. As part of the program, theater students collect canned and dry goods from their neighbors and friends to then be delivered to local charities and food banks. New Jersey Thespians serves as a leading honor society of the arts, holding a festival each year for high school students in January and a festival for junior high students in May in the Garden State. New Jersey has one of the fastest-growing Junior Thespian chapters in the country, doubling in membership in each of the last two years. New Jersey also has both high school and junior high Thespian officers who participate in events locally, regionally, and nationally. Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 7455, based out of Toms River High School North who collected over 450 pounds of food for one of the largest food bank organizations in the state, Fulfill of Monmouth and Ocean Counties: Alexa De Los Santos, Allyson Olivera, Bailey Terrett, Betania Esparza, Brianna Fredella, Darlene Penn, Delaney Koovits, Elizabeth Diamond, Emma York, Faith Moreno, Gage Alburger, Hannah Kemp, Joey Beatty, Joey Scholz, Jose Padilla, Kara Kube, Kayla Fredericks, Kelly Nide, Leah Hugo, Levi Dudek, Liam Ryan, Lillyanne Smith, Lucas Maciel, Madison McPhee, Mars Byles, Mycah Subai, Peyton Mendes, Riley Poll, Saniya Williams, Yazmin Beita, Zachary Menth and Danielle Brooks; as well as their advisor, Dr. Michael Penna. Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 6185, based out of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy in Toms River, N. J., whose students have collected 514 pounds of food for the Beachwood Thanksgiving Food Drive: Emily Altomare, Joshua Arneth, Enrique Bartolo, Zel Bollard, Ava Brierley, Christopher Castaneda, Colin Chaplin, Noelle Coburn, Lluvia Cohen, Adeon-Ethan Congdon, Catherine Cullen, Brooke DeFazio, Paige Derco, Lana Dubrow, Mia Dungan, Haley East, Julia Emer, Miley Ferriolo, Zoe Frantz, Keira Gabbai, Sophie Gabriel, Ariana Gallagher, Cassandra Gariepy, Jose Gonzalez, Irene Gross, Susan Guida, Gracie Hammel, Kenneth Hankins, Lauren Harry, Allyson Hovance, Riley Hubert, Maya Jackson, Alani Jasinski, Zoey Jastrzebski, Saturn Johnson, Keira Kennis, Alexis Kinsey, Joseph LaManna, Olivia Linton, Raine Lopez, Samantha Martinez, Dakota Mason, Mia Matviiv, Gabrielle McColley, Madelynn McDevitt, Maci McNeil, Regina Messenger, Gianna Minardi, Riley Paluszak, Molly Pease, Jordan Perucki, Alexandra Reed, Benjamin Ricker, Victoria Roberts, Tayden Rock, Hannah Rowley, Cali Scott, Andrew Shuberda, Kristin Uphold, Isabella Vitello, Samantha Voss, Katie Wallace, Christina Watrous, Mia Whalen, Kai Williams, Ella Ytterberg and Aronas Zajan; as well as their Troupe Directors Carolyn Little and Joseph Puliafico. Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 3411, based out of Brick Memorial High School, whose students collected 414 pounds of food for the Manasquan Food Pantry : Michael Wells, Jules Fuches, Jenna Barry, Isabel Bartlucci, Jessica O'Brien, Ky Morghan, Joseph Wronko, Molly and Emma Idzahl, Ava Hasen, Luca Buckno, Skylar Hillin, Emily Farrel, Alexis Marrleveled and Jess Corsentino; as well as their advisor, Jessica O'Brien. Congratulations and thanks to the students of Thespians Troupe 2430, based out of Manasquan High School, who collected 374 pounds of much needed food for the Manasquan Food Pantry: Casey Finnegan, Cormac Lawrence, Janelle Slovak, Jessica Slovak, Olivia Maes, Lexi Drent, Charlotte Dery and Bridget Freeman; as well as their advisor, Maddi Schille. Working together, these students, and their advisors, have made a significant and positive impact in our communities, helping to feed the hungry. Their noble and generous efforts are inspiring and deeply appreciated.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following letter, drafted by respected experts--including former members of Congress--in the field of religious freedom, and sent to members on Capitol Hill today, underscoring the dire state of religious freedom in Nigeria, and calling for that country to be designated a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Their stark appraisal of the situation, and the immediate threat to the lives of thousands of Nigerians, merits immediate action by the Biden Administration. December 12, 2023. Dear Members of Congress: As religious freedom advocates and proponents, and leaders of grassroots organizations with millions of American members, we appeal to you to urgently respond to the Department of State's failure to adequately address egregious, systematic, and ongoing religious persecution in Nigeria, as required by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. We specifically urge Nigeria's designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the IRFA and the appointment of a special envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region. Additionally, we urge you to support and cosponsor the bi- partisan legislation authored by Rep. Chris Smith and Rep. Henry Cuellar House Resolution 82, which calls for the State Department to carry out these two steps. A staggering 90 percent of all the Christians killed for their faith worldwide last year were killed in Nigeria, according to Open Doors, an increase from the 80 percent it reported in 2021. Over 5,000 Nigerian Christians are reported to have been killed for their faith in 2022. Most of this slaughter is now carried out by militants within the Fulani Muslim herder population, who have been allowed to act largely with impunity. While some Muslims have also been killed by the same forces, the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa found that, from October 2019 to September 2022, Christians in Nigeria were 7.6 times more likely to be killed and 6 times more likely to be abducted than Muslims by terrorist and militia groups, when taking into account their population's proportions in Nigeria's states. Catholic priests, evangelical pastors, and Methodist bishops have been special targets of kidnapping by Fulani and unidentified gunmen, typically shouting ``Allahu Akbar.'' The pontifical organization, Aid to the Church in Need, reports that, since early 2022 alone, 100 Nigerian Catholic priests have been kidnapped and not yet freed, 20 of whom were murdered, with many of these attacks occurring on church grounds. Nigerian media also reports the kidnapping of two imams from their mosques in 2022. Since 2009, some 17,000 churches have been burned and attacked, while many of them-- such as St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Ondo State that was attacked on Pentecost Sunday last year--were filled with worshippers. We are not aware of a single case that has been prosecuted. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reports that in ``northcentral Nigeria, ethnonationalists fighting to promote Fulani interests target Christian civilians based on ethnoreligious identity.'' In recommending CPC designation, it concludes that the Nigerian Government has ``routinely failed to investigate these attacks and prosecute those responsible, demonstrating a problematic level of apathy on the part of state officials.'' In addition, terror groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have attacked and killed thousands of Christians and Muslims who reject their dictates. Unknown numbers of Christian girls and women have been kidnapped into sexual slavery. Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in 2014 in Chibok, Borno State, half of whom remain captive and are pressured to convert to Islam, while Leah Sharibu remains enslaved following a terrorist raid of her school in Dapchi, Yobe State, in 2018. Lawlessness has resulted in millions of internally displaced Nigerians and hundreds of thousands of refugees. Just this year, in Nigeria's north central Benue State, whose population is overwhelmingly Christian, nearly two million farming families were displaced by Fulani militants. Some of them were then hunted down in their places of refuge and brutally hacked to death. Catholic Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Benue's Makurdi diocese recently shared video documentation of the aftermath of one such attack with numerous Members of Congress. Authorities also engage directly in religious persecution by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that have resulted in recent death sentences for Sufi musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu and two Muslim clerics, and ``religious insult'' laws that led to a 24-year sentence for Nigeria's Humanist Association head, Mubarak Bala. Moreover, these laws have been accompanied by a routine grant of impunity for extrajudicial attacks against their perceived violators. Last year, there was the unprosecuted mob killing of student Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu after she was accused of blasphemy and the unprosecuted serious death threats against the Sultan of Sokoto, Sokoto's Catholic bishop, and Rhoda Jatau, a Christian woman, all three of whom were targeted for expressing disapproval of Yakubu's murder. IRFA requires frank assessments in the face of such grave religious freedom violations. The Secretary of State should acknowledge that Nigeria has ``engaged in or tolerated'' severe religious freedom violations, the statutory criteria warranting CPC designation. This is particularly important since the United States is a major partner of Nigeria, having given it over $1 billion in foreign aid in 2022, alone. As Africa's most populous country and its largest economy, Nigeria wields significant influence in Sub-Saharan Africa. By allowing religious persecution to proliferate within its borders, Nigeria is compounding already heightened regional insecurity. Both American interests and the International Religious Freedom Act require a response. We view the passage of the bi-partisan House Resolution 82 as an essential first step. Sincerely, David Curry President and CEO, Global Christian Relief; Governor Sam Brownback, Former Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom Summit; Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom Summit; Nina Shea, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Religious Freedom, Hudson Institute; Kristen Waggoner, President and CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom; Tony Perkins, Chairman, Family Research Council; Leonard Leo, Former Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom. F. Brent Leatherwood, President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Southern Baptist Convention; Congressman Frank Wolf, Former Member of Congress 1981-2015, Retired; George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center; Mary Ann Glendon, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Learned Hand Professor of Law, emerita Harvard University; Eric Patterson, President, Religious Freedom Institute; Jane Adolphe, Founder & Executive Director, International Catholic Jurists Forum; Jeff King, President, International Christian Concern (ICC). The Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, Diocesan Bishop The Anglican Diocese of the Living Word Anglican Church in North America; Timothy R. Head, Executive Director, Faith and Freedom Coalition; Dr. Randel Everett, President, 21Wilberforce; Stephen S. Enada, Executive President, International Committee on Nigeria; Faith McDonnell, Director, Katartismos Global; John Stonestreet, President, Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Director, American Association of Evangelicals (AAE); Robert Nicholson, President and Founder Philos Project; Amanda Bowman, Chair, The Catholic Herald Institute; Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch; Kathryn Jean Lopez, Senior Fellow, National Review Institute; Alejandro Chafuen, Founder, International Freedom Educational Foundation; Mark Tooley, President, Institute on Religion and Democracy; Dede Laugesen, Executive Director, Save the Persecuted Christians; Richard Ghazal, In Defense of Christians.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call attention to the government of Iran's long, ongoing, and brutal campaign of terror against the Baha'i continues unabated. Of course, the government of Iran is one of the most brutal, cruel, and repressive in the world, truly one of the ``worst of the worst.'' The victims of its terrorism abroad include entire countries threatened by the wars, proxy wars, and terrorism it directs, including in most Middle Eastern countries. Within Iran, the regime terrorizes its own citizens--here we will remember the savage persecution of Christians, and the women blinded by the hanian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini. To some degree everyone living in Iran is a victim of this government. Yet we must also specifically remember the Baha'i. Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i religion initially developed in Persia. Iran is home to about 300,000 Baha'i--which makes it the largest Baha'i community in any country in the world. The Baha'i International Community at the United Nations Office in Geneva published The Baha'i of Iran--A Persecuted Community, which revealed that since the current regime took power in 1981, over 200 Baha'i's have been executed, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs on account of their religion. In the last year, the persecution has intensified, resulting in grave human right violations. The number of arrests of Baha'i's has only increased, and even included that of a 90-year-old man who had previously served 10 years in prison. The Baha'i's center of faith is in the city of Haifa, Israel, which the Iranian government uses as a pretext to classify Baha'i's as Israeli spies and execute them for committing the spurious crimes of conspiring with the ``Zionist regime''. Although the Iranian government persecutes all who are not Shi'a Muslims, since Baha'i are accused of heresy and group apostasy, they are singled out for particularly savage repression. The Iranian government has denied them access to universities and even in some cases, prohibited them from graduating high school, while also consistently denying Baha'i's the opportunity to open and own businesses. In 1982, the Iranian government seized the Baha'i's cemeteries and holy places--and only over ten years later did it allocate them a 20,000-square-meter plot of land in which to bury their dead. As time has passed, that small parcel of land no longer suffices--and finding a place to bury loved ones has become a daunting task. Reportedly, government agents are stationed at the entrance of the cemetery to prevent visitation, and the government has taken control of the buildings used for burial ceremony activities. In September 2023, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported that ``Iranian authorities have arrested scores of Baha'i's across Iran, taken them to locations that were initially undisclosed, and sentenced them to excessive jail terms as the government has attempted to restrict internal dissent in response to protests.'' Mr. Speaker, it is sad to say that neither in respect of human rights of the Baha'i or in any other respect has the government of Iran reformed or even improved its human rights record. But Congress has remained firm in their support of the Baha'i. Since 1982 Congress has repeatedly passed resolutions expressing support for the religious freedom rights of the Baha'i's in Iran. The Iranian government must stop the arbitrary arrests of members of the Baha'i community. We must continue to speak out and hold the government accountable for the destruction of life and property belonging to people of Baha'i faith.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Monday next, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 888 reaffirming the State of Israel's right to exist. I thank my good friend from New York, Mike Lawler, for introducing this timely, extremely important, and ever-necessary resolution. Mr. Speaker, Israel is the only state in the world whose fundamental right to exist is openly denied by other states. Some of them, including Iran, even call for Israel's complete destruction and support transnational terrorist organizations to work toward its demise. It is also the only state in the world whose fundamental right to exist is constantly undermined and challenged by intergovernmental organizations, such as and most shamefully of all, the United Nations. The anti-Semitism motivating those who deny Israel's right to exist is apparent, but it is important to connect, as this resolution does, the denial of Israel's right to exist, to anti-Semitism, and to connect them both as enabling causes to the monstrous crimes Hamas has unleashed on Israel. Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitic bigotry is at the root of the U.N.'s hostility toward Israel, which is ugly, evil, and manifests itself at almost every U.N. entity. On November 8, I chaired a hearing of my subcommittee, and we called it United Nations' Bigotry Towards Israel. We heard expert testimony from Hillel Neuer, the executive director of U.N. Watch; and Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Hillel Neuer testified: ``Teachers and schools at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which runs education and social services for Palestinians, regularly call to murder Jews, and create teaching materials that glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis, and incite anti-Semitism.'' He further said: ``In 2022 alone, UNRWA received $344 million in U.S. funding. Yet, a March 2023 report by U.N. Watch and Impact-SE identified 133 UNRWA educators and staff who were found to promote hate and violence on social media, and an additional 82 teachers and other staff affiliated with 30 UNRWA schools who were involved in drafting and distributing hateful content to their students.'' That is just the tip of the iceberg. Jonathan Schanzer testified that: ``The U.N. doesn't recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. Nor does it recognize Hezbollah either. That means U.N. resources can be and regularly are provided to members of those terrorist groups.'' Mr. Speaker, according to the great human rights defender, Nathan Sharansky's famous 3-D test for anti-Semitism, which he articulated at a hearing that I chaired way back in 2004, criticism of Israel is nothing less than anti-Semitic when it passes over into the demonization of Jews and Israel, delegitimizes the Jewish state, or applies double standards; that is, one standard for Israel, and another for every other country on Earth. That is what many U.N. entities and agencies do every single day. Yesterday, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the JTA, reported on the latest example of the double standard and said: ``Nearly 50 days after Hamas' attack on Israel left 1,200 dead, and after weeks of criticism over its silence about allegations of sexual violence during the attack, the women's rights group, U.N. Women, issued a statement condemning the terror group on Friday. Then it deleted the post.'' Here is what it said originally: `` `We condemn the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7 and continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,' read the initial statement posted on U.N. Women's Instagram page. It was soon replaced with a statement that dropped the condemnation of Hamas and only called for the release of hostages.'' Mr. Speaker, there are so many examples. In 2022, the U.N. General Assembly targeted Israel in a total of 15 harshly critical resolutions, compared to 13 country-specific resolutions for the entire world: China, North Korea, Iran; 13 for all of them combined, 15 for Israel. In large measure, it is because of the U.N., which unquestionably is the world's foremost legitimizer of anti-Semitism, that it remains necessary, 75 years after the founding of the great State of Israel, to reaffirm its right to exist. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from New York, and my friend from Florida, for authoring this important resolution.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding and for her leadership on protecting Israel and providing them the means to protect themselves. Mr. Speaker, our great friend and ally, Israel, with assistance from the U.S., continues to respond to the cowardly Hamas invasion that includes psychotic terrorists butchering innocent civilians, rape, hostage-taking, the beheading of babies, and the daily indiscriminate missile attacks that are reminiscent of Nazi buzz bombs and V-2 rockets. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would never allow a second Holocaust, nor should we. Anti-Semitism, as we all know, is at the root of Hamas violence against Israel. Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to read the charter that was put out by Hamas in 1988. They call for killing Jews--slaughtering Jews. I ask every Member to read it. They demand the destruction of Israel--that there be no Israel--that they eviscerate it from planet Earth. This important bill provides $14.3 billion to provide military assistance to Israel, including $4 billion to replenish Iron Dome and David's Sling, $3.5 billion for foreign military financing, $1.2 billion for the continuing development of the Iron Beam system, and so much more. Mr. Speaker, like the Nazis before them, Hamas and its chief terrorism sponsor, Iran, are committing genocide against the Jews. Can you believe that Iran is now chairing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva as of today? That is absurd. The United States--and all people committed to human rights and the rule of law--must stand with Israel. That means our moral support and our prayers. That means ensuring that critical intelligence be shared, and every weapon system critical in destroying Hamas, including Iron Dome, is conveyed to Israel in quantities commensurate to the challenge and without delay. Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill, and I call on my friends on the other side of the aisle to support it.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, each October we recognize National Spina Bifida Month and pay tribute to the nearly 166,000 Americans living with Spina Bifida--the most common permanently disabling birth defect compatible with life--and to draw attention to the critical challenges we must address to ensure each and every American can achieve their full potential and attain the quality of life they deserve. The federal government has an obligation to advance research into devastating diseases and disabilities to help find cures and therapies and to identify preventative strategies. Equally important is federal support for programs and initiatives that help patients and their families as they struggle to live with these conditions, such as Spina Bifida. Literally translated as ``split spine,'' Spina Bifida is a condition that occurs when a baby's neural tube fails to develop or close properly. Typically occurring within the first 28 days of pregnancy while the neural tube is forming, Spina Bifida often develops before a woman even knows she is pregnant. Sponsored by the Spina Bifida Association (SBA), National Spina Bifida Awareness Month is a time to highlight the needs of the community and recognize the importance of the work done year-round to advance research, programs, and policies aimed at meeting those needs. As co-chair of the Congressional Spina Bifida Caucus, I've had the honor to work alongside SBA to advance Spina Bifida awareness, research, and public health efforts in Congress. Founded in 1973, SBA is the Nation's only organization solely dedicated to advocating for and assisting those living with and affected by this debilitating birth defect. Through its nearly 60 chapters in more than 125 communities, the SBA brings expectant parents together with those who have a child with Spina Bifida. This interaction helps to answer questions and concerns, but most importantly it lends much needed support, solidarity, inspiration, and hope. Mr. Speaker, Spina Bifida is a birth defect that can happen to anyone. Every day, an average of eight babies are affected by Spina Bifida and approximately 3,000 pregnancies are affected by this birth defect each year. We do not know the exact cause of this condition, but research has found that if a woman takes 400 mcg of folic acid every day before she becomes pregnant, she reduces her risk of having a baby with Spina Bifida or another neural tube defect by as much as 70 percent. No two cases of Spina Bifida are ever the same and so this birth defect is commonly referred to as the ``snowflake condition.'' Children born with Spina Bifida typically undergo dozens of surgeries before they reach the age of 18. And during their lifetime, someone with Spina Bifida will face at least $1 million in medical expenses, including multiple surgeries, and most can expect to spend much of their lives in a wheelchair or walking with braces. Despite these challenges--and thanks to advances in research and medicine, along with policies supportive of children with disabilities--nearly two-thirds of Americans currently living with Spina Bifida have made it to adulthood. And while these strides are certainly worth celebrating, people with Spina Bifida--particularly adults--continue to face a crisis of care that could be largely prevented with the right resources and policies. For instance, while we have a coordinated system of care designed to treat children with Spina Bifida in the U.S., there is no equivalent for adults. The result is that adults face a ``care cliff'' and enter a very fractured medical system where they are unable to find physicians willing or even knowledgeable enough to provide treatment, as Spina Bifida is still largely taught in medical schools as a pediatric condition and education has failed to keep pace with the rapid rise in the adult Spina Bifida population. Thousands of adults are left with few options other than to seek care in the emergency room or continue to see their pediatric care team until insurance will no longer cover their care because of their age. And to make matters worse, many of these adults rely on Medicaid as their insurance provider, so even if they have the means to travel to an adult specialist, if they are located in another state--as is often the case--their coverage is denied. Across the country, there are more than 100 pediatric clinics devoted to caring for children with Spina Bifida. There are only 20 whose focus is on adults. At the federal level, we can and should make dramatic improvements in the ability of adults with Spina Bifida to access quality care by increasing the funding of the CDC's National Spina Bifida Program--the only federal program tasked with improving the care and outcomes for people living with Spina Bifida. In 2008, the Federal Spina Bifida Program created a National Spina Bifida Patient Registry to collect the scientific data needed to evaluate existing medical services for Spina Bifida patients, and to provide clinicians, researchers, patients, and families, a window into what care models are effective and what treatments are not making a measurable difference. Building on this in 2014, the Spina Bifida Program funded the development of a Spina Bifida Collaborative Care Network to identify and to disseminate best practices for the care of people with Spina Bifida at all ages. However, with only $7.5 million in annual funding--and this amount has been stagnant--there are only 11,000 patients in the national registry, limiting the ability of medical professionals to glean knowledge that would advance research in areas critical to improving quality of life. Even modest increases to this funding would make an enormous difference. Additionally, we should urge NIH to work collaboratively across their many divisions to better understand Spina Bifida. As Spina Bifida can affect every organ and every system in the human body, a collaborative effort undertaken by NIH could result in research that would lead to better care for both this generation and future generations of Spina Bifida patients. Moreover, the new designation of those with disabilities as a health disparity creates a new opportunity to harness federal resources for the Spina Bifida community by ensuring their representation in NIH research and thereby recognizing those with this complex condition in a new and critical light. We are so fortunate today that our country is benefiting from the talent and contributions of the first generation of adults living with Spina Bifida. Today, I honor and celebrate all of them, along with their care partners, and also remember those we have lost to this condition. And I urge my colleagues to not only increase funding for the National Spina Bifida Program, but to work together so that these Americans receive the care and treatment all of us want for our families and loved ones. Mr. Speaker, with added federal support, more people living with Spina Bifida could receive assistance they need along their life's journey. I invite my colleagues to join me in this mission and join me in the Spina Bifida Caucus to broaden our efforts and advance the goal of a better future for people living with Spina Bifida.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman and the ranking member for this extraordinarily important resolution. Mr. Speaker, our great friend and ally Israel, with significant assistance from the United States, continues to respond to the cowardly Hamas invasion that includes Hamas' psychotic terrorist butchering of innocent civilians, rape, hostage-taking, the beheading of babies, and daily indiscriminate missile attacks that are reminiscent of Nazi buzz bombs and V-2 rockets. Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu has said in the past that he would never allow a second Holocaust, nor should we. Anti-Semitism is at the root of Hamas' violence against Israel and every Jewish man, woman, and child. Israel's right to defend itself from this brutal invasion is absolute. Hamas' 1988 charter explicitly demands the absolute destruction of the State of Israel and proclaims: ``Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it. . . . '' Article 7 of the Hamas charter demands the slaughter of all Jews and says: The Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him. Article 13 explicitly rejects initiatives for peace and reconciliation and states, ``Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.'' In its 2017 charter, Hamas reiterated its goal of wiping Israel off the face of the Earth and said: ``There is no alternative to a fully sovereign Palestinian State on the entire national Palestinian soil, with Jerusalem as its capital.'' Like the Nazis before them, Hamas and its chief terrorism sponsor, Iran, are committing genocide against the Jews. The United States--and all people committed to human rights and the rule of law--must stand with Israel. That means our support and prayers and the weapons systems to defeat Hamas.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Chair, the State-Foreign Operations bill under consideration today continues and strengthens the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, for another year, fiscal year 2024, ensuring that critically needed medicines, including antiretrovirals, or ARVs, and other lifesaving interventions are available to those who need them in Africa and elsewhere. Mr. Chair, I especially thank Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart and the Committee on Appropriations for insisting that the noble purpose of PEPFAR is not compromised or undercut by integrating and merging other agendas, including and especially the promotion of abortion by massively funding pro-abortion foreign nongovernmental organizations and instructing them to repeal pro-life laws. To that end, the new State Department bill reinstates the protecting life and global health assistance policy, also known as the Mexico City policy. Sadly, upon assuming office, President Biden repealed Ronald Reagan's old Mexico City policy, which ensured that PEPFAR's over $6 billion a year in taxpayer grant money wasn't subsidizing foreign NGOs that perform or promote abortion. Biden's PEPFAR Core Program--and this needs to be underscored because some people say they are not doing it-- says they promote protecting sexual reproductive health and rights, including the ongoing rescission of the Mexico City policy. The executive director of UNAIDS, a prime PEPFAR partner composed of WHO, UNFPA, and other U.N. agencies, welcomed Biden's repeal of the pro-life policy, saying that it showed his commitment to abortion rights. Mr. Chair, a June 6th letter signed by 131 African lawmakers and religious leaders, including the speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, implored Congress not to--I say again, not to--exploit PEPFAR to promote abortion, stating: ``We want to express our concerns and suspicions that this funding is supporting . . . abortion,'' which ``violates our core beliefs concerning life, family, and religion.'' Most of the African countries are solidly pro-life, and they are under siege by the NGOs that we are supporting. The Mexico City policy helps to ensure that that doesn't happen. They went on to say: ``We ask that PEPFAR remain true to its original mission and respect our norms, traditions, and values. We ask that those partner organizations with whom the U.S. Government partners to implement PEPFAR programs . . . are cognizant and respectful of our beliefs and not cross over into promoting divisive ideas and practices that are not consistent with those of Africa.'' Last year, showing no doubt of the pro-abortion goals of this administration, they announced a sweeping new radical policy known as Reimagining PEPFAR's Strategic Decision. They said that it integrates sexual reproductive health and rights. Of course, that means abortion with HIV/AIDS work. Mr. Chair, in a recent op-ed, former Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote: ``It is incredibly disappointing, but not surprising, that the Biden administration has hijacked one of President George W. Bush's greatest accomplishments, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, to promote apportion on demand in the developing world.'' He continued: ``President Biden's insincere and demonstrably false claim that PEPFAR isn't pushing abortion on demand in Africa and elsewhere collapses under any serious scrutiny of its partners.'' They say they are not doing it. They are empowering the NGOs to do it. Just like in this Chamber, the House and Senate, and all over this country, we know it is the NGOs, Planned Parenthood and others, that tee up and promote very aggressively for abortion right up until the moment of birth. Mr. Chair, I strongly supported PEPFAR when it was created in 2003, and I was the sponsor of the reauthorization of PEPFAR in 2018. Regrettably, it has been reimagined, hijacked by the Biden administration to empower pro-abortion international NGOs, deviating from its life-affirming work. It is time we got back to the original noble idea, for which there is a strong bipartisan, bicameral consensus. That noble goal is to prevent this devastating disease, robustly treat and assist those who have been affected, and ultimately end HIV/AIDS around the world, not supporting abortion, the killing of unborn children by dismemberment, chemical poisoning. Do you know what the abortion pill does? It starves the baby to death. That is its operation. They are trying to disseminate that all over Africa.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I associate myself with the remarks of my distinguished chairman. I have been on the Helsinki Commission, serving on it since 1982. It is a remarkable Commission. We get political prisoners out of prison. We did it during Soviet times. I worked with Steny Hoyer, when he was chair and I was ranking and also when I was chair and he was ranking member. It is truly a bipartisan Commission that promotes democracy, human rights, and as my good friend mentioned a moment ago, we also combat horrible things like human trafficking. I am the special rep for human trafficking, and we are making a difference, so please vote ``no'' on this amendment.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to instruct. Let's be absolutely clear. Current Federal DOD law already permits taxpayer funding of abortion in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother, but the Biden DOD travel policy forces taxpayers to pay the transportation costs for military members and dependents to travel to procure an abortion for any reason whatsoever right up until the moment of birth. Some States, like my State of New Jersey--and there are many others like it, like New York and California--have enacted extremist laws that legally sanction the killing of a baby for any reason whatsoever right up until the moment of birth. The Biden policy has no limits on gestational age, so it facilitates aborting babies through all 9 months. There is nothing humane, Mr. Speaker, 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. Dr. Ronny Jackson's House-passed amendment to the NDAA overturns the DOD abortion travel policy. Regrettably, the pro-abortion culture is truly a culture of denial. It continues to deny, devalue, and disrespect unborn children, both boys and girls. 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 both. We need to love them both. I do believe, Mr. Speaker, that 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, because they do behead the child during the process of a dismemberment abortion, as well as other dismemberment. Abortion pills. How do they work? They literally starve the child to death. That is how they work. I work on global hunger and food insecurity issues in my district and throughout the country and world all the time. How does the abortion pill work? It starves the baby to death. Please, Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to not force taxpayers to facilitate abortion on demand.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I thank my good friend and colleague for writing such an important bill, and I thank Chairman Graves and Mr. Larsen for the great cooperation between both sides of the aisle. Mr. Chair, my amendment, cosponsored by Jeff Van Drew and Dr. Andy Harris, requires the President or his designee to certify that offshore wind turbine projects in the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Planning Areas will not ``weaken, degrade, interfere with, or nullify the capability of radar relied upon by the FAA or the Armed Forces.'' It would also require the DOT IG to conduct a comprehensive review of the sufficiency of the process used to approve offshore wind projects in areas critical to air travel and national security. Many of us, Mr. Chair, are deeply concerned over the safety, efficacy, and likely deleterious environmental impact of embedding some 3,400 ocean wind turbines, each the size of the Chrysler Building in New York City, off our coast. We have serious, well-founded concerns that offshore wind turbines will interfere with radar capabilities and, as a direct consequence, create a dangerous and potentially catastrophic impact on both military and commercial aviation activities, as well as helicopters used by the Coast Guard to save lives. Offshore wind development will affect some of the busiest airspace in the country, including the areas surrounding New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, which contain major international airports, dozens of smaller airports, and several military and Coast Guard aviation facilities. Mr. Chair, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's radar interference analysis from August of 2020 stated: ``The research team found that the proposed and hypothetical wind farms are within the line of sight of 36 radar systems, indicating that they will generate interference to these radars under normal atmospheric conditions'' and ``future offshore wind energy installations off the Atlantic Coast may impact land-based radar systems.'' Additionally, in 2017, the interagency Ground-Based Coastal Air Surveillance Wind Turbine-Radar Interference Vulnerability Study found that: ``Offshore wind turbines may pose unique impacts to coastal radar systems given the differences in propagation of radar signals over the ocean versus land, as well as the larger size of offshore wind turbines compared to land-based wind turbines.'' This particular analysis, I would point out, relied on the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island whose turbines are 589 feet tall. The turbines slated for installation off the New Jersey and New York coast are significantly higher, approximately 1,000 feet. They are huge, and they will affect radar. The DOD has expressed serious concerns over offshore wind development off the Virginia coast. How does that apply to us and to commercial aviation, which is, again, the gist of this amendment? I have personally, Mr. Chair, read several of the major impact studies for these projects, and they confidently, almost arrogantly, suggest and assert that problems that might arise can be ``mitigated.'' Really? Then support my amendment and ensure that that's the case and that we do our due diligence. A 2022 comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences found that: ``Wind turbine generator mitigation techniques have not been''--I emphasize ``have not been''--``substantially investigated, implemented, matured, or deployed.'' Additionally, the NAS found that wind turbine generator returns obfuscate even marine vessel radar. That is not the subject here, but it is radar. Therefore, it leads to false images when vessels are traversing our oceans. Mr. Chair, allies, including Taiwan, Japan, Finland, and Sweden, have halted certain offshore wind turbine projects due to objections from their armed services. An article last year in the Taiwan News said: ``The military has confirmed wind turbines could interfere with the surface-to-air missile systems deployed in the northwestern coast of Taiwan. The low-frequency noise generated by the turbines is likely to affect the reflected radio waves that phased array radars need to detect signals of missiles or aircraft.'' That is very serious. This wall will make us blind potentially. It will inhibit our ability to see what is going on. Again, there is so much commercial aircraft, and they need to have unfettered ability to traverse the skies. Finally, no matter where any of my colleagues stand on offshore wind, a certification by the President or his designee--and the due diligence that that will require--that offshore wind turbines do not weaken, degrade, interfere with, or nullify the capability of radar relied on by the FAA is both prudent and it is absolutely necessary. Mr. Chair, I thank the distinguished chairman for including this in his en bloc amendment.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, this week in my district in New Jersey, veterans, leaders and local officials will be dedicating the Women's Wing at the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community in Tinton Falls--and will be appropriately naming it in honor of my good friend and extraordinary public servant, Monmouth County Commissioner Lillian G. Burry. For more than a decade, Commissioner Burry has been the quarterback in the push to meet the compelling housing and service needs of homeless veterans in our community. When Lillian and I first heard of and met with John Downing of Soldier On more than ten years ago, we decided that's what we need in Monmouth County. We quickly discovered that Soldier On created world-class housing opportunities coupled with vital services for homeless veterans, and the impact has been enormous and life changing. In July 2012, we secured a million-dollar grant to Soldier On to provide housing assistance and stability to our veterans so that they could remain in their homes even when times are difficult. Although there were many setbacks along the way--including an inability to secure space at Fort Monmouth--Lillian never quit and helped lead the way through some of the toughest road blocks. Ultimately, Lillian's dream of creating a homeless veterans housing initiative in Monmouth County became a reality in 2021 with the grand opening of the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Village. Set on a six-acre village-like setting, this amazing community offers a wide-range of supportive services, general wellness, health and social opportunities in addition to permanent housing for those who have courageously stepped up to serve our great nation and have put their lives on the line to defend our fundamental freedoms. This state-of-the-art complex for homeless veterans that provides 70 fully furnished one-bedroom apartments--including its special wing reserved for women--would not have been possible without Lillian's tenacity and skill in making it happen. As a devoted military wife to U.S. Coast Guard Captain Don Burry for over 65 years, Lillian has long known firsthand the tremendous sacrifices made by our nation's service members and their loved ones. Residents across Monmouth County have benefitted from Lillian's courage, tenacity, can-do spirit, wit and determination. Along with helping our veterans, Lillian has expanded services through her work for open lands, libraries, infrastructure improvements, the arts and much, much more. A former Matawan councilwoman, mayor of Colts Neck and the first female Director of the County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Lillian has greatly enhanced our quality of life in Monmouth County. Thanks to Lillian's unwavering commitment to our veterans and her enduring perseverance, for the first time in years--even decades--many veterans finally have a place to live and hope and thrive in Monmouth County.