A Look Ahead — December 7-11
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) announced the following upcoming Committee events:
Tuesday, December 8
Subcommittee Hearing: Civil Nuclear Cooperation with Pakistan: Prospects and Consequences
2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
His Excellency Husain Haqqani
Director for South and Central Asia
The Hudson Institute
Daniel S. Markey, Ph.D.
Senior Research Professor
School of Advanced International Studies
Johns Hopkins University
Mr. Henry D. Sokolski
Executive Director
Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
George Perkovich, Ph.D.
Vice President for Studies
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Chairman Poe on the hearing: “Media reports in October suggested that the Administration was exploring ways to begin negotiations with Pakistan over a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. Despite quick official denials, the possibility of nuclear cooperation with Pakistan requires serious examination. Pakistan has a long history of proliferating sensitive nuclear technology and material to some of the worst global actors, including Iran and North Korea. Pakistan also maintains ties with various terrorist groups, such as the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, that have a history of killing US troops. These grave concerns coupled with Pakistan’s dangerously unrestricted nuclear weapons program raise serious questions regarding nuclear cooperation between Washington and Islamabad. This hearing will allow Members to hear from experts about the potential for such nuclear collaboration and better understand its possible consequences for regional security and U.S. national interests.”
Tuesday, December 8
Subcommittee Hearing: Drug Resistant Tuberculosis: The Next Global Health Crisis?
2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Chairman
Invited Briefers Include:
The Honorable Eric P. Goosby, M.D.
Special Envoy on Tuberculosis
United Nations
Invited Witnesses Include:
Tom Frieden, M.D.
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Honorable Ariel Pablos-Mendez, M.D.
Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Global Health
U.S. Agency for International Development
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “Our next great global public health crisis may very well be multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Just as Ebola surprised many at the ferocity with which it spread, I am concerned that the world is not prepared to meet the threat from this highly contagious airborne disease which killed 1.5 million people last year alone. We are very fortunate to have three of the world’s leading experts on combatting TB – UN Special Envoy Dr. Eric Goosby, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden and USAID’s top medical expert, Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez – address us on the need for proactive vigilance and steps we are taking to strengthen health systems in countries that are particularly vulnerable. A sustained focus on tuberculosis prevention today will save lives and money tomorrow, helping people the world over as well protecting the homeland from what otherwise could become a global pandemic.”
Wednesday, December 9
Markup: H.R. 1654, H.R. 3654, and H.R. 4154, H. Res. 346, H. Res. 536
10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 9 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman
Bills to be marked up include:
H.R. 3654, Combat Terrorist Use of Social Media Act of 2015
H.R. 4154, Taiwan Naval Support Act
H. Res. 346, Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic
Wednesday, December 9
Subcommittee Hearing: Year in Review: U.S. Policy Toward a Changing Western Hemisphere
2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 9 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
The Honorable Roger Noriega
Visiting Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
(Former Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State)
The Honorable Mary Beth Long
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Metis Solutions
(Former Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense)
Cynthia J. Arnson, Ph.D.
Director
Latin American Program
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Chairman Duncan on the hearing: “This year, we have seen many changes in the Western Hemisphere. Economic and security factors, migration, and deepening ties with non-hemispheric foreign actors, such as Iran, China, and Russia, have impacted many countries in our region. Elections this year in multiple countries have shifted governments and political power, the Organization of American States has a new Secretary-General committed to reforming and revitalizing the organization, Panama hosted the Seventh Summit of the Americas with the inclusion of Cuba for the first time, and the U.S. began its two-year Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Yet even with all these changes, the Obama Administration continues to neglect or at the very least not display the leadership and vision to advance U.S. and regional interests in a manner that unifies the democratic and free nations of the region or that furthers regional harmony, security, and economic prosperity. This hearing will examine the Administration’s policies toward the region to determine their impact and assess the progress of countries in the region in furthering democracy and freedom, strengthening rule of law and judicial institutions, growing shared economic prosperity, and providing a safer and more secure region.”
Wednesday, December 9
Subcommittee Hearing: Fulfilling the Humanitarian Imperative: Assisting Victims of ISIS Violence
2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 9 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:
Gregory H. Stanton, Ph.D.
President
Genocide Watch
The Most Reverend Bishop Francis Kalabat
Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in America
Mr. Mirza Ismail
Founder and Chairman
Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International
Mr. Patrick Kelly
Vice President for Public Policy
Knights of Columbus
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “More than half of the 635,000 refugees entering Europe this year are from ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. They are pushed from the area not only by the violence they experience that is directed specifically at them or violence in which they are caught up. Humanitarian assistance has not kept pace with need. The World Food Programme, which reports only 41% funding for its Syria regional program this year, considers this shortfall the main trigger for flight from the region by those persecuted or displaced. This hearing will focus on the plight of persecuted religious minorities in Syria and Iraq and the failure of the international community to fulfill their pledges of support.”
***See foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.
***All Committee proceedings are webcast live HERE.
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