*Subcommittee Hearing added Wednesday at 2pm*

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

Tuesday, June 16

Hearing: Advancing United States’ Interests at the United Nations

10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

The Honorable Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative
United States Mission to the United Nations
U.S. Department of State

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “In the coming months, the United Nations Security Council is likely to consider several key issues, including sanctions on Iran and North Korea, peacekeeping reform, and Middle East security.  It is critical that our mission to the United Nations advance our national interests in an institution that has long been in desperate need of reform and often taken positions against American interests.  This hearing will give members an opportunity to press the U.S. Ambassador to the UN on Congressional concerns and priorities.” 

Tuesday, June 16

Subcommittee Hearing: Reviewing the Administration’s FY 2016 Budget Request for Europe and Eurasia

2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Ms. Alina Romanowski
Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Mr. Daniel Rosenblum
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
U.S. Department of State

The Honorable Jonathan Stivers
Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Asia
U.S. Agency for International Development

Ms. Susan Fritz
Acting Assistant Administrator
Europe and Eurasia Bureau
U.S. Agency for International Development

Chairman Rohrabacher on the hearing: “This hearing will address how the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request will advance US interests and help our friends and allies in Europe and Eurasia. What is our policy and is our aid being used in a manner which promotes that policy? Are we funding efforts that are fiscally sustainable and don’t create a dependence on the part of the host government?  This hearing will provide the chance to put the Administration on the record and continue the Subcommittee’s ongoing oversight efforts.”

 

Wednesday, June 17

Hearing: Assad’s Abhorrent Chemical Weapons Attacks

10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 17 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

The Honorable Robert Ford
Senior Fellow
The Middle East Institute

Mohamed Tennari, M.D.
Idlib Coordinator
Syrian-American Medical Society

Mr. Farouq Habib
Syria Program Manager
Mayday Rescue

Annie Sparrow, M.B.B.S.
Deputy Director Human Rights Program
Assistant Professor of Global Health
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Chairman Royce on the hearing: "The Assad regime continues its chemical weapon strikes, despite Obama Administration claims to have destroyed its illegal stockpile. Assad denies having any chemical weapons, while his forces brazenly gas men, women, and children.  This hearing will highlight these horrific attacks and what can be done to protect vulnerable Syrian civilians. The Committee will hear chilling accounts, including from brave responders working to save the lives of those targeted by the Assad regime."

Wednesday, June 17

Subcommittee Hearing: The Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act: State Department’s Non-Compliance

2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Mr. Thomas Melito
Director
International Affairs and Trade
Government Accountability Office

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing: “The GAO’s latest report on the State Department’s non-compliance with the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act’s (INKSNA) reporting requirements is greatly alarming. INKSNA can be a powerful tool in helping curtail the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction but its effectiveness is diminished when State does not sanction individuals and make timely reports to Congress as required by law. State’s non-compliance calls into question which other sanctions provisions the administration has been blatantly ignoring during these misguided and dangerous nuclear negotiations with Iran and puts our national security at risk by increasing the potential for additional proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This hearing will provide our Members the opportunity to examine State’s reporting history in regards to INKSNA, the reasons State has delayed reporting, how to improve the process to ensure that reporting requirements are met, and what impact State’s delays have had on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

Wednesday, June 17

Subcommittee Hearing: China’s Rise: The Strategic Impact of Its Economic and Military Growth

2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Derek M. Scissors, Ph.D.
Resident Scholar
American Enterprise Institute

Alison Kaufman, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
China Studies Division
CNA Corporation

Mr. Jerome A. Cohen
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia Studies
Council on Foreign Relations

Mr. Han Dongfang
Founder and Director
China Labour Bulletin

Chairman Salmon on the hearing: “The People’s Republic of China is at a turning point economically, politically, demographically, and militarily. Though China’s military buildup has been a decades-long affair, recent Chinese military developments under President Xi Jinping have been particularly disconcerting, especially as its advances threaten to diminish the United States’ role in the region. China is also embarking on massive trade, infrastructure, and investment initiatives, which are global in scope and driven by economic shifts at home. At the same time, China’s domestic profile is changing—its workforce is shrinking, its population is disproportionately aging, and the Xi regime restricts more and more personal and political freedoms. The Subcommittee must fully understand China’s current and future changes to fulfil its duty to oversee U.S.-China relations, particularly in light of increasing bilateral tensions, and in preparation for Chinese President Xi ‘s November state visit.”

*Wednesday, June 17

Subcommittee Hearing: Human Rights Abuses by Vietnamese Authorities

2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations

Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Chairman

Invited Witnesses include:

Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (Dieu Cay)
Writer
Free Journalists Club of Vietnam

Mrs. Doan Thi Hong-Anh
(Wife of a torture victim)

Nguyen Dinh Thang, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Boat People SOS

Chairman Smith on the hearing: “This hearing will take a hard look at the ongoing human rights abuses the Government of Vietnam perpetrates upon its own citizens, particularly the deeply troubling violations of the freedom of religion and free expression.  The testimony of our distinguished witnesses will provide us with first-hand accounts of repression and torture and egregious restrictions on rights the Government of Vietnam has pledged to uphold. Over the past decade, the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has expanded in security and economic cooperation, but is continually challenged by the Government’s suppression of freedoms sought by the Vietnam’s people. The Subcommittee will consider how U.S. interests in human rights improvements can be better integrated into bilateral relations, including through legislation being considered in the U.S. Congress.”

 

Thursday, June 18

Subcommittee Hearing: The Future of Property Rights in Cuba

10 a.m. on Thursday, June 18 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel I
Mr. Mauricio Tamargo
(Former Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission)

Mr. David Bradley
(Former Chief Counsel of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission)

Panel II
Mr. Javier Garcia-Bengochea
Certified Claimant

Ms. Carolyn Chester Lamb
Certified Claimant

Chairman Duncan on the hearing: “I continue to strongly oppose the Obama Administration’s decision to normalize relations with the oppressive Communist Castro regime.  The President’s determination to continue to negotiate from a position of weakness and not to be more forceful in insisting upon basic freedoms and human rights for the Cuban people is a profound disservice to those brave individuals on the island who continue to be bold enough to stand up to the regime.  Earlier this year, this Subcommittee examined the U.S. national security implications of the President’s new Cuba policy shift. This hearing will examine the Cuban government’s complete disregard for property rights, which has impacted thousands of American and Cuban citizens alike.  When Fidel Castro brutally seized power in 1959, he confiscated property from both U.S. and Cuban titleholders – some at gunpoint – without providing any compensation in return. Yet, the Obama Administration has proceeded with talks toward normalization of relations with Cuba without prioritizing justice for U.S. claimants whose property and assets were stolen from them. In total, these property claims represent the loss of billions of dollars and a blatant disregard for the importance of property rights and the rule of law. I look forward to examining this issue in greater detail.”

 

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

***Coverage note: All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live on the Committee website.

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