A Look Ahead — Week of July 8-12
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, July 9
10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Invited witnesses include:
The Honorable Stuart W. Bowen, Jr.
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
The Honorable John Herbst
Director
Center for Complex Operations
National Defense University
(Former American Ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan)
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing: “This hearing will focus on the important lessons learned from the stabilization and reconstruction operations (SRO) undertaken by the United States in Iraq and the hope is to apply those to our other reconstruction efforts moving forward, most notably as our mission in Afghanistan shifts to a post-conflict emphasis. The critical bottom line of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) report underscores the need for a drastic change in how the United States conducts SRO efforts. SIGIR’s report highlights our inability in Iraq to organize, plan or execute a post-conflict strategy and the lack of accountability over the millions of American taxpayer dollars that were wasted. It’s important to cull from those lessons a best practices approach so the our nation can avoid the substantial human and financial costs associated with the rebuilding efforts in Iraq, and apply them to any similar role in the future.”
Tuesday, July 9
Subcommittee Hearing: Cambodia’s Looming Political and Social Crisis
2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Chairman
Invited witnesses include:
Mr. John Sifton
Director
Asia Advocacy
Human Rights Watch
Ms. Evi Schueller
Legal Consultant
Cambodian League for the Promotion of Defense of Human Rights
Mr. Patrick Manikas
Director
Election Programs
National Democratic Institute
Mr. Daniel Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
SRP International Group
Chairman Chabot on the hearing: “Later this month, on July 28, Cambodia will hold national elections. Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for the last 30 years, will win his fourth term as prime minister through an incitement of political violence, corruption and nepotism. This victory will only ensure a political, social and economic future for the Cambodian people that is both uncertain and dire. With the expulsion of elected opposition legislators and banning of foreign media, Hun Sen has obstructed the democratic process, yielding an election that has already been declared not free or fair. As the human rights situation continues to deteriorate at the hands of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, the U.S. must reassess its foreign assistance and demand immediate improvements in Cambodia’s human rights record. This hearing is an important opportunity to examine what happens after the upcoming elections and how the U.S. should leverage its assistance to better address the growing human rights abuses in Cambodia at a time of incredible political instability.”
Wednesday, July 10
Joint Subcommittee Hearing: The Terrorist Threat in North Africa: Before and After Benghazi
10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 10 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Invited witnesses include:
Mr. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Director
Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Mr. Aaron Zelin
Richard Borow Fellow
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Daniel L. Byman, Ph.D.
Professor
Security Studies Program
Georgetown University
Mr. Mike Lovelady
Brother of Algerian gas plant terrorist attack victim, Victor Lovelady
Wednesday, July 10
2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman
Invited witnesses include:
Panel I
Mr. Kevin K. McAleenan
Acting Deputy Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Department of Homeland Security
Panel II
Mr. Nicholas E. Calio
President and CEO
Airlines for America
Captain Lee Moak
President
Air Line Pilots Association, International
Thursday, July 11
Subcommittee Hearing: The State Department 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report
11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 11 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman
Invited witnesses include:
The Honorable Luis CdeBaca
Ambassador-at-Large
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
U.S. Department of State
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “The Trafficking in Persons Report reveals the record of every country’s efforts—or lack thereof—to combat human trafficking, and summarizes performance into three tiers,” said Smith, author of the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act of 2000 that created not only the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department, but also the annual TIP Report itself. “I am particularly concerned about the Chinese government’s abysmal record, which was put on the Tier 2 Watch List for eight consecutive years and in this new report is downgraded to the worst level, Tier 3. The Chinese Government’s plan to fight human trafficking is woefully inadequate and unevenly implemented. There has been little or no efforts to comply with the minimum standards. Law enforcement in China is still not trained to identify or properly help sex or labor trafficking victims. I have even heard reports that local police are often unwilling to help parents find missing children who may be enslaved in factories, and that officials have been known to profit from factories that exploit children.”
***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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