Updated: Look Ahead — Week of July 28 – August 1

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced the following upcoming Committee events:

Wednesday, July 30

Markup: 
H.R. 3398, To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to provide assistance to support the rights of women and girls in developing countries, and for other purposes;
H. Res. 281, Expressing concern over persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience, in the People’s Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners;
H.R. 5041, The Naftali Fraenkel Rewards for Justice Act of 2014;
H.R. 5235, To authorize further assistance to Israel for the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system; and
H. Res. 683, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the current situation in Iraq and the urgent need to protect religious minorities from persecution from the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as it expands its control over areas in northwestern Iraq.

10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman

Wednesday, July 30

Subcommittee Hearing: Twenty-Years of U.S. Policy on North Korea: From Agreed Framework to Strategic Patience

2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific

Steve Chabot (R-OH), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

The Honorable Glyn Davies
Special Representative for North Korea Policy
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State

The Honorable Robert King
Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights
Office of the Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea
U.S. Department of State

Chairman Chabot on the hearing: “In 1994, the Clinton Administration announced to the world the signing of the Agreed Framework that was supposed to result in a nuclear weapons-free North Korea.  Twenty-years later, the goal of denuclearization in North Korea is no closer to reality.  Rather, Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile weapons programs continue to make progress, threatening the stability of the entire Asia region. After 20 years of failed policies, it is time for a new approach to North Korea. The regime’s efforts to proliferate, counterfeit, and undermine are well-known and documented—as are North Korea’s systematic and horrific human rights abuses. This hearing will examine whether the Administration intends to cripple the North Korean regime by considering more targeted sanctions or whether the failed policy of “strategic patience” will continue.”

Wednesday, July 30

Subcommittee Hearing: Building Prosperity in Latin America: Investor Confidence in the Rule of Law

2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

The Honorable James K. Glassman
Visiting Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
(Former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State)

Mr. Paul M. Barret
Author

The Honorable Jose W. Fernandez
Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
(Former Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs U.S. Department of State)

Chairman Salmon on the hearing: “Rule of law, predictability, and strong democratic institutions are vital in providing the confidence investors need to bring economic opportunity, growth and jobs to any given country.  Latin America is rich in resources and human capital, but many countries in the region are plagued by corruption, weak institutions, and leaders who systematically erode democratic values.  Argentina’s continued flouting of past debt obligations places what should be a vibrant economy at risk of another default.  Market unfriendly regulations in Brazil, Ecuador, and Bolivia have similarly shaken investor confidence, affecting economic growth in the region.  This hearing will give my Subcommittee the opportunity to examine where confidence has been shaken, how U.S. economic interests are affected, and what if anything the United States can do to encourage greater transparency and market friendly approaches throughout the Americas.  The dire situation in Central America is a perfect example of how weak institutions and endemic corruption can have corroding effects on economic growth and opportunity.”

Thursday, July 31

Committee Briefing: Assad’s Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy

9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 31 in 2172 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Ed Royce (CA), Chairman

Briefers:

“Caesar”
(Syrian Army defector)

Mr. David M. Crane
Professor of Practice
College of Law
Syracuse University

Mr. Cherif Bassiouni
Emeritus Professor of Law
College of Law
DePaul University

The Honorable Frederic C. Hof
Resident Senior Fellow
Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council

Chairman Royce on the briefing: “Over the past three-and-a-half years, the Assad regime has carried-out a campaign of unspeakable brutality against the Syrian people, including chemical weapons attacks, mass torture, and mass executions against even peaceful political opposition.  The slaughter’s systematic nature is shocking.  At this briefing, Committee Members will hear – and see — the sobering account of a first-hand witness of Assad’s killing machine.  The primary briefer Thursday morning, the Syrian army defector known as ‘Caesar,’ has helped smuggle tens of thousands of photos of more than 10,000 tortured and executed Syrian political dissidents, some of them children.”

***See foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.

***Coverage note: Committee hearings and markups are webcast live at foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.

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