*Witness list has changed*

**Hearing postponed**

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) announced the following upcoming Committee events:

Thursday, June 23

Hearing: Countering the Virtual Caliphate

10 a.m. on Thursday, June 23 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Mr. Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director
Program on Extremism
Center for Cyber and Homeland Security
George Washington University

Aaron Lobel, Ph.D.
Founder and President
America Abroad Media

Peter Neumann, Ph.D.
Director
International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation
Department of War Studies
King’s College London

Chairman Royce on the Hearing: “ISIS relies heavily on the Internet to spread its violent ideology.  Through the Internet and social media, ISIS is inspiring attacks within the United States and projecting force across the Middle East and Europe.  Yet this administration’s response continues to be disjointed and inadequate.  This needs to change – quickly.  America’s national security depends on our ability to confront and defeat these terrorists online.”

*Thursday, June 23

Joint Subcommittee Hearing: Organ Harvesting: An Examination of a Brutal Practice

2 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Chairman

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Mr. David Matas
Senior Legal Counsel
B’nai Brith Canada

Mr. Ethan Gutmann
Journalist

Francis L. Delmonico, M.D
Professor of Surgery
Harvard Medical School

Charles Lee, M.D.
Director of Public Awareness
World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong

Chairman Smith on the hearing: “Rising global demand has fueled the growth of a worldwide black market for transplant organs. Criminals harvest the organs of living people, such as Eritrean refugees in the Sinai, and lucrative government-sanctioned enterprises in China sell the organs of prisoners and vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities.  Witnesses at the hearing will present new evidence of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China and offer recommendations for ways to address an urgent, worldwide human rights and public health crisis.”

Chairman Rohrabacher on the hearing: “Whether it is the international trafficking in human organs by criminal networks or the systematic harvesting of organs by the Chinese government, such practices show deplorable disrespect for the value of individual human life. This hearing will shed light on new research and evidence that exposes the ghoulish nature of organ harvesting in China which is used both as a tool of repression and a source of income for the state. Legitimate organ donation, conducted by ethical medical professionals, is one of the great advances of our time. It is vital that the U.S. Government continue to expose the horrendous practice of organ harvesting and work with our international partners to end such illegal and immoral acts.”

**Thursday, June 23

Subcommittee Hearing: “Directing vs. Inspiring: ISIS’ Evolving Tactics and the Orlando Terrorist Attack”

2 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building
[This hearing has been postponed.]

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

Invited Witnesses Include:

Mr. Michael Weiss
Co-Author
ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror

Mr. Graeme Wood
Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow
Council on Foreign Relations

Mr. Clint Watts
Robert A. Fox Fellow
Foreign Policy Research Institute

Chairman Poe on the Hearing: “The recent deadly attack in Orlando left 49 innocents dead and underscored the lethality of ISIS’ violent ideology. ISIS-inspired attacks cost the terrorist group nothing, but their casualties add to ISIS’ momentum and narrative of victory. These attacks also pose a particular difficulty for law enforcement and the intelligence agencies. This hearing will give Members the opportunity to learn more about the significance of the difference between attacks inspired and directed by ISIS and allow for a greater examination of the terrorist ideology that underpins these heinous tragedies.”

Thursday, June 23

Subcommittee Markup: H. Res. 210, H. Res. 634, H. Res. 728, H.R. 4501

2 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman

Measures to be Marked Up Include:

Res. 210, Affirming and recognizing the Khmer, Laotian, Hmong, and Montagnard Freedom Fighters and the people of Cambodia and Laos for their support and defense of the United States Armed Forces and freedom in Southeast Asia;

Res. 634, Recognizing the importance of the United States-Republic of Korea- Japan trilateral relationship to counter North Korean threats and nuclear proliferation, and to ensure regional security and human rights;

Res. 728, Supporting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Cambodia and

H.R. 4501, Distribution and Promotion of Rights and Knowledge Act of 2016.

Thursday, June 23

Subcommittee Hearing: U.S. Policy in the Pacific: The Struggle to Maintain Influence

2:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Chairman

Invited Witnesses Include:

Mr. Matthew J. Matthews
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands
Senior Official for APEC
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Ms. Gloria Steele
Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Asia
U.S. Agency for International Development

Chairman Salmon on the Hearing: “The Pacific Island states have played a key role in regional defense since World War II, control some of the world’s richest fishing grounds, and actively participate in international organizations.  This vast area between the United States and Asia has historically been closely aligned with the United States but has received little attention until recently, when China and others started giving it more focus.  Five years ago, the Administration told Congress that we were in direct competition with China for influence in the Pacific Islands.  This hearing will look at what we have done since then to maintain the United States’ political, economic, and military influence with the Pacific Island states.”

Friday, June 24

Markup: H.Res. 729, H.Res. 750, H.Res. 780, H.R. 4481, and H.R. 5537

9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 24 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

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

Measures to be Marked Up Include:

Res. 729, Expressing support for the expeditious consideration and finalization of a new, robust, and long-term Memorandum of Understanding on military assistance to Israel between the United States Government and the Government of Israel;

Res. 750, Urging the European Union to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization and increase pressure on it and its members;

Res. 780, Urging respect for the constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the democratic transition of power in 2016;

H.R. 4481, Education for All Act of 2016; and

H.R. 5537, Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2016.

 

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

***Coverage note:  All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live at www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.

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