Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak in support of Chairman Meeks' Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, of which I am an original cosponsor. While so much of the world's attention is rightfully focused on Russia's atrocities in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and his minions are also at work elsewhere around the world. This is especially true in Africa, where we see the extensive presence of Russian Private Military Contractors, or PMCs, in particular the notorious Wagner Group, and extensive Russian entanglement in countries with mining and strategic mineral reserves. In some cases, such as in the Central African Republic, we see mines guarded by Wagner Group mercenaries. Wagner Group PMCs are said to have also appeared recently in Sudan, where there had been earlier reports of Russia seeking a naval base. We have also seen Wagner mercenaries implicated in atrocities in Mali, which seems to have taken a bizarre turn recently, with France accusing Russia of staging a false flag operation seeking to implicate the French. Thus, the Chairman's bill is especially timely, and can serve as a template for other bills addressing Russian involvement around the world, including the Western Hemisphere, as came up during our markup.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I support S. 812, which came to us from the Senate, and which calls for the Administration to develop a strategy for Taiwan to regain observer status at the World Health Organization. As we know, Taiwan stands as a beacon of democracy in Asia--and indeed, an example for much of the world--and offers a stark contrast to the totalitarian model of Xi Jinping across the Taiwan Strait in Mainland China. As a result, the People's Republic of China has doubled down on its longstanding efforts to delegitimize Taiwan and keep it from participating in international organizations. As we rediscovered in 2020, however, a deadly virus doesn't play politics, and crosses borders without regard to diplomatic niceties. To kowtow to Communist China and exclude Taiwan from having even an observer status at the World Health Organization is to play politics with global health. It is especially galling when one recalls that pernicious misrepresentations were made by the PRC to the World Health Organization at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the warnings sounded by Taiwan as to the true nature and origins of the pandemic were ignored by the WHO. Mr. Speaker, I also want to note that I, along with my colleague from New Jersey, Jeff Van Drew, also introduced legislation last year, H.R. 1775, to provide for a vehicle for victims of State misrepresentations to the World Health Organization to seek redress using US courts. I urge my colleagues to support S. 812, and for this Administration to devise and implement the strategy this timely legislation calls for to allow our democratic partner Taiwan to accede to the World Health Organization as an observer.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding, and I thank both Ranking Member McCaul and Chairman Meeks for their extraordinary leadership on this important bill that is before us today. I want to thank Mr. Meeks for his eloquent remarks a moment ago summarizing the absolute atrocities that are being committed by Vladimir Putin, his military, and Lukashenko who is the enabler, the President of Belarus. The gentleman has described in vivid detail just how horrific this is. And as my good friend from Texas said a moment ago, my father fought in World War II as well in the South Pacific, but the crimes that were committed by imperial Japan and by the Nazis are now being replicated on a grand scale by Vladimir Putin. It has to stop, and it has to stop yesterday. So I rise in strong support of this legislation. Madam Speaker, on March 8 I chaired a hearing at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission entitled ``Accountability for Russia's War Crimes and Aggression Against Ukraine.'' The day before I also introduced a resolution calling for accountability for Vladimir Putin for his crimes against the Ukrainian people and his aggression against Ukraine. The witnesses could not have been more clear that delay is denial and that we need to act now. I was very much involved with the court in the former Yugoslavia and very involved with the court for Sierra Leone. David Crane led that effort. I was very involved with the Rwandan court and tried to get a court for Syria but failed. I pushed hard for it with a resolution on this floor, and the House did pass it. But the key here is timeliness. Don't wait. The ICC, while it may do some good here, and they do have an investigation that they have instituted, the ICC has been notoriously slow. They have had less than 10 convictions over 20 years. Now, if that venue works, great. But my concern--and I think the concern shared by many, particularly in the NGO community--is that there needs to be another venue stood up quickly that could make the difference. At the March hearing, David Crane, the founding Chief Prosecutor of the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone, talked about an international tribunal created by the United Nations General Assembly. We are all thinking, Hey, when it gets to the Security Council, the Security Council will have two vetoes at least. It will be Russia, and it will be China. Not so in the General Assembly. They can stand up a court and they can do it tomorrow that would indict Vladimir Putin on the next day. There is certainly enough evidence--keep building the evidence, of course--but there is enough evidence to do it right now, and that, hopefully, will tell everybody around him that the time will come when you will be in the dock as well. I remember meeting with Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia and going to Bosnia and Croatia many times during that horrific war in the Balkans. Time and time again he thought he was untouchable, total impunity because of that. He killed so many because there was no accountability. Well, he went to The Hague as part of the ad hoc tribunal, and he died while the proceedings were underway. But he would have been held to account. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this. We have already had one vote in the General Assembly, 141 out of 198 voted and a number of people abstained. You only need a simple majority. I did ask our number two at the State Department, at Gregory Meeks' hearing earlier today, to take back to the administration the idea of looking at all the venues. But let's get a court constituted immediately. If the ICC wants to step in at some point, fine. But indict Putin. Indict him, and you will see some people running like rats on the ship who were a part of his regime knowing that they, too, will be held accountable and sent to prison for the rest of their lives.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Russian oil and gas is absolutely financing Putin's horrific war of aggression. I am for this bill, but there are provisions in this one in particular that should not be in here. Mr. Speaker, I am the prime sponsor of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act which we added to the 2017 NDAA. Under the act, an actionable offense occurs only when there is a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights which has the meaning given to it in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Specifically, the Foreign Assistance Act includes torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person. H.R. 6968, however, radically strikes and replaces the current definition of what constitutes an actionable offense with language that is not defined--and this being done tonight without the benefit of hearings or due diligence. Under the new language, the President may impose sanctions on an individual if responsible for or complicit in or has directly or indirectly engaged in what they call serious human rights abuse. Exactly what does that mean? There is no definition. How is that phrase defined? How elastic is it, especially when it is not linked to any international treaty or covenant? What does directly engaged mean? How indirect? Guilt by association? The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act got it right. It was bipartisan, and it links sanctions to internationally recognized human rights. I hope the Senate will take a look at this. This is an egregious mistake.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend I met with over 100 Ukrainian Americans in my district office in Freehold, New Jersey. They told me how their families and friends in Ukraine are coping with Putin's barbaric invasion, the loss of life, the many who are wounded, and their escalating concern as the bombs and missiles rain down on civilian targets. According to UNHCR, about 876,000 Ukrainian refugees have left, that is as of March 1st, and about half have found safety in Poland. Most are women, children, and the elderly. Despite facing an existential threat, the free world continues to be astonished by the Ukrainian people's strength, courage, resiliency, and desire to fight. Interviews coming out of Ukraine, especially in the bunkers, underscores the Ukrainian people's resolve. Let me just say how great it is to see Zelensky, who has stood up. He is a true hero and a tenacious leader, the President of Ukraine. This is Putin's war, and he is a war criminal, Mr. Speaker. Putin's puppet in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is also a war criminal, and like Serbian Slobodan Milosevic and President Charles Taylor of Liberia, they need to be prosecuted and held to account for their war crimes. I would remind my colleagues that in a 2014 speech, right here, to a joint session of the Congress, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko did ask the Obama administration for military assistance, which he did not get, to defend against Putin's invasion of Crimea. He said, ``One cannot win the war with blankets.'' He got several standing ovations, all of us were on our feet. But he got only more blankets. Let's learn from that. Last June, as Russia deployed more combat forces on the border, Politico and others reported that there were delays in providing the kind of military aid that Zelensky really wanted. I did ask Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman today for a timeline, on how did this all come about. Did he ask for more and did not get it? We need to know this to learn from it, so we get it right the next time. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend I met with over one hundred Ukrainian Americans at my district office in Freehold. They told me how their families and friends in Ukraine are coping with Putin's barbaric invasion--the loss of life, the wounded and escalating concern as bombs & missiles rain down on civilian targets. They appealed for help. The humanitarian crisis is exploding--both inside the country and for those seeking refuge. As of March 1st, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)--there are more than 876,000 Ukrainian refugees--with about half finding safety in Poland. Most are women, children, and the elderly. Despite facing an existential threat, however, the free world continues to be astonished by the Ukrainian people's strength, courage, resiliency and desire to fight. Interviews coming out of Ukraine--including in bunkers--underscore the Ukrainian people's resolve. Under their extraordinarily heroic and tenacious leader--President Volodymyr Zelensky--the people of Ukraine are rallying to defend their beloved homeland. This is Putin's war--and he is a war criminal. Putin's puppet in Belarus--Alexander Lukashenko--is also a war criminal. And like Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and President Charles Taylor of Liberia, they need to be prosecuted and held to account for war crimes. Now more than ever, the United States and our allies must provide much-needed military equipment and humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine as they fight to defend their freedom from a brutal dictatorship. I would remind my colleagues that in a 2014 speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked the Obama Administration for military assistance--which he didn't get--to defend against Putin's invasion of Crimea and said ``One cannot win the war with blankets''. He got several standing ovations--and more blankets. Last June, as Russia deployed more combat forces on Ukraine's border, Politico and others reported that a modest military aid package had been put on hold. Key items under consideration for the package included short-range air defense systems, small arms and more anti-tank weapons . . .'' Robust stockpiles of weapons could have bought deterrence--and if necessary, a means for the Ukrainians to defend themselves from Putin's violence. At a Foreign Affairs hearing earlier today, I asked Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman what Ukrainian President Zelensky asked for over the past year--including air defense systems--and what he did or didn't get from the Biden Administration? Her response may come in a closed door hearing next week. Comprehensive economic sanctions must degrade Putin's capacity to wage war. Some highly efficacious sanctions have not yet been imposed, however. Russian oil revenues help fuel Putin's aggression in Ukraine. Not a drop of Russian oil exports should reach our shores.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce), a medical doctor. So many of our leaders in the pro-life effort both in this Congress and legislation across the country are medical doctors and healthcare professionals.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief, and I will speak at the end of the Special Order as well if there is time. Mr. Speaker, in 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned women and babies to what is now the multibillion dollar abortion industry, and almost 63\1/2\ million unborn children have been killed, a staggering loss of children's lives that is more than the entire population of Italy. Now, by at least affirming the constitutionality of the Mississippi law after 15 weeks, which we are all hoping and praying for, the Supreme Court may finally take a powerful step towards inclusion, respect, and justice for the weakest and most vulnerable nearly 50 years after the infamous findings of Roe v. Wade. Tomorrow thousands will march for life here in the capital and across the country. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), who is a medical doctor, an anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins, and co-chairman of the Pro-Life Caucus.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), co-chair of the Pro-Life Caucus.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Fischbach for her powerful and eloquent witness for life, both in the legislature in Minnesota and now in the U.S. House. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot). I would note that he is the prime author of two breakthrough laws. One is called the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, which is law, and the Born- Alive Infants Protection Act.

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

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), my friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), a distinguished attorney before coming to Congress and number four in the line of leadership in the Republican Party.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Thank you very much, doctor, for your leadership and eloquence. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett).

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

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his strong statement. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller.)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for sharing that beautiful story about his son Freddie. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), another good friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his comments. I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks and wish her congratulations. I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), a good friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much for sharing that. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta), and I thank him for his leadership on his pending bill.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo), my friend and colleague and leader in the pro-life movement as well.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for reminding us that the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea both have policies like ours, especially as it relates to up-to-birth abortions. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership all these many years. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).