A Look Ahead — Week of March 23-27
(Note RSVP requirement for media covering March 26 hearing on ISIS)
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, March 24
Subcommittee Hearing: The U.S. Rebalance in South Asia: Foreign Aid and Development Priorities
11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
The Honorable Nisha Desai Biswal
Assistant Secretary
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
U.S. Department of State
The Honorable Jonathan Stivers
Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Asia
U.S. Agency for International Development
Chairman Salmon on the hearing: “The relationship between the United States and countries in South Asia concerning democracy promotion and economic growth is ripe for cooperation. However, the region also faces significant challenges. The Maldives is increasingly a hub for foreign fighters and religious extremism. Bangladesh continues to face severe political challenges and labor issues. India must address development challenges for a significant part of its population. The United States uses limited resources to assist South Asian nations to facilitate its democratic infrastructure and economic development. This hearing will investigate the Administration’s FY 2016 budget request for the Department of State and the Agency for International Development as it relates to U.S. priorities in South Asia. We will discuss how U.S. expenditures in South Asia may best serve U.S. interests in the face of the region’s shifting geopolitical landscape, increasingly complex security outlook, lingering human rights issues, and enduring development challenges.”
Tuesday, March 24
11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
The Honorable Roberta S. Jacobson
Assistant Secretary
Bureau for Western Hemisphere Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Ms. Elizabeth Hogan
Acting Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean
U.S. Agency for International Development
Chairman Duncan on the hearing: “This hearing will examine the Administration’s FY2016 budget request, which gives nearly $2 billion for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and represents a whopping 35% increase over the FY2014 funding level. Some of the dubious priorities the Administration has for the region include $6.6 million to implement the U.S.-Cuba policy shift by converting the U.S. Interests Section in Havana into a full U.S. Embassy, $1 billion for Central America (225% more than the FY2014 funding level), and $75.5 million for climate change programs. In contrast, total U.S. security assistance for the region would decline by about $4 million under the Administration’s request. I look forward to conducting vigorous oversight of the State Department and USAID’s funding priorities and holding these agencies accountable by eliminating any mismanagement or waste in their operations, terminating programs that aren’t working and applying those funds to the deficit, and ensuring that any U.S. foreign assistance given to countries in the region advances U.S. national security and economic interests.”
Tuesday, March 24
Subcommittee Hearing: Iran’s Noncompliance with its International Atomic Energy Agency Obligations
2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
Mr. William H. Tobey
Senior Fellow
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Ms. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Fellow
George C. Marshall Institute
Mr. David Albright
Founder and President
Institute for Science and International Security
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing: “The latest IAEA reports show that Iran is still not complying with its obligations to either the IAEA or the P5+1. Outstanding questions on the possible military dimension are very troubling and indicate Iran is attempting to deceive and circumvent the international community. If Iran won’t comply with the IAEA now, we’ll have an even harder time verifying its nuclear program if a comprehensive agreement is reached. This just goes to show what many of us fear, and what the administration continues to ignore: there is no way to fully monitor and verify Iran’s program, and that’s why the only option must be a complete dismantling of its nuclear program. This hearing will give our Members an opportunity to hear from experts in the field on exactly what Iran’s noncompliance with the IAEA means for U.S. and global security as well as the nuclear negotiations.”
Tuesday, March 24
Subcommittee Hearing: After Paris and Copenhagen: Responding to the Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism
2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in 2175 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:
The Honorable Ronald S. Lauder
President
World Jewish Congress
Mr. Roger Cukierman
President
Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France
Mr. Dan Rosenberg Asmussen
President
Danish Jewish Community
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “Since the violence in the Middle East during the summer of 2014, the Jewish communities of Europe have been under heightened threat of terrorist attacks—underscored by the recent attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. Their physical security is now at a risk level unprecedented since World War II. This hearing will address the potential responses that countries should take to address the growing threats their Jewish citizens are facing.”
Wednesday, March 25
Subcommittee Markup: H.R. 237, FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2015
1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman
Wednesday, March 25
2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 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 Susan S. Jacobs
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Panel II
Mr. Jeffery Morehouse
Executive Director
BAC Home
(Father of Abducted Child to Japan)
Ms. Bindu Philips
(Mother of Abducted Children to India)
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “This hearing will examine the State Department’s overall implementation of the ‘Sean and David Goldman Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act,’ enacted in 2014, and whether the new tools the law provides are being aggressively used to resolve previous abductions to countries such as India, Japan–where many of the parental victims are U.S. service members– and Brazil. These are American children and they need to come home to be with their lawful custodial parents.”
Thursday, March 26
Hearing: The Administration’s Strategy to Confront ISIS
8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 26 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
**Media RSVP requirement by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25. Details HERE.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include:
General John Allen, USMC, Retired
Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL
U.S. Department of State
Brigadier General Michael Fantini, USAF
Middle East Principal Director
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense
Brigadier General Gregg Olson, USMC
Deputy Director for Middle East
Joint Staff Strategic Plans and Policy
U.S. Department of Defense
Chairman Royce on the hearing: “Month after month we’ve seen the ISIS threat grow. They are a nightmare for millions of civilians in Syria and Iraq. Despite pressure from Congress, the Administration continues to offer too little, too late to our allies and partners on the front lines of this threat. Stepping in are Iranian-backed Shiite militias, undercutting hopes for an inclusive Iraqi government. This hearing will evaluate the Obama Administration’s strategy and AUMF request to confront ISIS.”
***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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