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, September 29

Subcommittee Hearing: U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts in Syria: A Winning Strategy?

2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

General Jack Keane, USA, Retired
Chairman of the Board
Institute for the Study of War

Mr. Thomas Joscelyn
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies

The Honorable Daniel Benjamin
Norman E. McCulloch Jr. Director
John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding
Dartmouth College
(Former Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State)

Chairman Poe on the hearing: “A year after President Obama vowed to ‘degrade and ultimately defeat’ ISIS, it appears that the Administration's counterterrorism strategy in Syria is in shambles. Despite the progress cited by the President in the fight against the Islamic State, the terrorist group's self-proclaimed 'caliphate' has expanded to now include fifty percent of Syria's territory and the majority of the country's oil wells. The air strike campaign does not seem to be stopping the terrorist onslaught, and the train and equip program that the President called on Congress to authorize has been plagued with setbacks. Members will have the opportunity to hear from experts to gain a better understanding of the issues facing the current counterterrorism strategy in Syria and hear some new policy recommendations to ensure that the U.S. can turn the tide towards victory against the Islamic State.”

 

Wednesday, September 30

Hearing: Cyber War: Definitions, Deterrence, and Foreign Policy

10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

James Andrew Lewis, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow and Director
Strategic Technologies Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Catherine Lotrionte, Ph.D.
Director
Institute for Law, Science and Global Security
Georgetown University

Mr. Bob Butler
Adjunct Senior Fellow
Technology and National Security Program
Center for a New American Security

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “The continued and very damaging cyberattacks on American agencies demonstrate that the Administration’s current deterrents are not working.  This hearing will help determine what laws and policies should be updated to address the new threat of cyber conflict.  The Committee will be looking at whether any of the policies expected to be announced around the current visit by President Xi of China will meaningfully improve our country's cybersecurity.”

Wednesday, September 30

Subcommittee Hearing: Ridding Central Africa of Joseph Kony: Continuing U.S. Support

2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30 in 2172 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:

Panel I
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Panel II
Mr. Paul Ronan
Co-Founder and Project Director
The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative

Mr. Sasha Lezhnev
Associate Director of Policy
Enough Project

Chairman Smith on the hearing: “The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a deadly armed group that has plagued Uganda where it was formed, as well as neighboring countries, since 1987.  Thousands have been killed, maimed, kidnapped or enslaved during its horrible reign of terror.  As the Administration considers the continuation of its four-year-old U.S. counter-LRA mission, this hearing will examine the ongoing LRA threat in East and Central Africa and the success of the multinational effort to end the LRA menace.”

Wednesday, September 30

Subcommittee Hearing: The Threat of Islamist Extremism in Russia

2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Leon Aron, Ph.D.
Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies
The American Enterprise Institute

Mr. Simon Saradzhyan
Assistant Director
U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Harvard University

Chairman Rohrabacher on the hearing: “The scourge of violent Islamist terrorism threatens many nations around the world. This hearing will discuss the possibility of the U.S. and Russia cooperating in this area of mutual concern. Our two countries share a common enemy in Islamist terrorism and, if possible, we should cooperate to achieve a mutual benefit.”

 

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

***All Committee proceedings are webcast live HERE.

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