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

Tuesday, March 15

Hearing: Review of the FY 2017 Foreign Assistance Budget: Aligning Interests, Ensuring Effectiveness and Transparency

10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

The Honorable Gayle Smith
Administrator
U.S. Agency for International Development

The Honorable Dana J. Hyde
Chief Executive Officer
Millennium Challenge Corporation

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “U.S. foreign assistance is critical to our national security, but it must be used effectively and transparently.  This hearing will be an opportunity to examine the president’s budget request for the U.S. agencies responsible for providing humanitarian assistance to help reduce global poverty and promote our democratic values.”

Tuesday, March 15

Subcommittee Hearing: Trade with Cuba: Growth and Opportunities

1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R- TX), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

C. Parr Rosson, Ph.D.
Head of Department
Agricultural Economics
Texas A&M University

Mr. Ray Stoesser
President
Texas Rice Council

Mr. Jason Marczak
Director
Latin American Growth Initiative
Atlantic Council

Mr. Mauricio Claver-Carone
Executive Director
Cuba Democracy Advocates

Richard E. Feinberg, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Global Policy and Strategy
University of California, San Diego

Chairman Poe on the hearing: “For more than fifty years American farmers have been either completely barred or severely restricted in selling their goods to Cuba. While some important trade reforms have been made recently, the US government is still tying the hands of American farmers. This hearing will examine the effectiveness of current trade reforms and the implications of moving the U.S.-Cuba trading partnership forward.”

Tuesday, March 15

Subcommittee Hearing: U.S.-India Relations: Democratic Partners of Economic Opportunity

2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Alyssa Ayres, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia
Council on Foreign Relations

Mr. Sadanand Dhume
Resident Fellow
American Enterprise Institute

Mr. Richard M. Rossow
Senior Fellow and Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Chairman Salmon on the hearing: “India is an increasingly important partner of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. Our two nations have made great progress on political and security cooperation, but the economic relationship has lagged. Prime Minister Modi has committed to pursuing domestic economic reforms, but progress has been limited. The United States and India are pursuing a number of bilateral economic initiatives, including the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, the Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations. This hearing will focus on the challenges to India’s economic growth, ways we might support necessary reforms, and how we can strengthen trade and investment between our nations.”

Tuesday, March 15

Subcommittee Hearing: U.S. Policy Toward National Self-Determination Movements

2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Paul R. Williams, Ph.D.
President and Co-Founder
Public International Law and Policy Group

Jason Sorens, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Department of Government
Dartmouth College

Mr. Ivan Vejvoda
Senior Vice President for Programs
German Marshall Fund of the United States

Chairman Rohrabacher on the hearing: “Over time, it is natural for populations of people to move and change, just as the characteristics of governments change. We should, and must, expect this. Yet, U.S. foreign policy thinking too often acts as if the borders of a nation-state are set in stone. As circumstances change, the United States must be open to the possibility that peacefully changing borders makes sense and promotes stability. Around the world today, the existing borders have been set by empires and flukes of history just as much as by the will of the people. If self-determination movements seek to change their political situation, we should consider the possibility that addressing those grievances will improve, not harm, peace and stability. This hearing will provide Members the opportunity to discuss these concepts and examine whether or not recent U.S. policy has adequately addressed these issues.”

 

Wednesday, March 16

Markup: H. Res. 343 and H. R. 4678

10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Measures to be marked up include:

H. Res. 343, Expressing concern regarding 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 and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.

H.R. 4678, To prohibit modification, abrogation, abandonment, or other related actions with respect to United States jurisdiction and control over United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without congressional action.

 

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

***Coverage note:  All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live at foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.

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