Chairman Smith on the hearing: “Some career staff at the State Department and USAID are thwarting the commitment of the President, Vice President and Congress to give aid to Christian and Yazidi survivors of the ISIS genocide. These religious and ethnic minorities are at risk of soon becoming extinct in Iraq, unless we help them. This hearing will focus on the current crisis and what the Administration can and should do now to help ensure these communities survive.”

Witnesses

The Honorable Frank Wolf
Distinguished Senior Fellow
21st Century Wilberforce Initiative
(Former U.S. Representative)
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Shireen
Yazidi Survivor of ISIS Enslavement
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Mr. Stephen Rasche
Legal Counsel
Director of Internationally Displaced Persons Assistance
Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Ms. Lauren Ashburn
Managing Editor and Anchor
Eternal Word Television Network
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

____________________________

Hearing transcript (PDF)