[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BUILD ACT OF 2018; UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SECURITY ASSISTANCE
AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018; HACK YOUR STATE DEPARTMENT ACT; ENERGY
DIPLOMACY ACT OF 2018; INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2018;
AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER AUTHORITIES ACT OF 2018
=======================================================================
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 5105, H.R. 5141, H.R. 5433, H.R. 5535,
H.R. 5677, and H.R. 5681
__________
MAY 9, 2018
__________
Serial No. 115-127
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,
or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
30-017 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas KAREN BASS, California
DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
PAUL COOK, California LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
RON DeSANTIS, Florida JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
TED S. YOHO, Florida BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois DINA TITUS, Nevada
LEE M. ZELDIN, New York NORMA J. TORRES, California
DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
Wisconsin ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
ANN WAGNER, Missouri TED LIEU, California
BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida
BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
THOMAS A. GARRETT, Jr., Virginia
JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
MARKUP ON
H.R. 5105, To establish the United States International
Development Finance Corporation, and for other purposes........ 2
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 5105 offered by
the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress
from the State of California, and chairman, Committee on
Foreign Affairs.............................................. 80
Amendments to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 5105 offered by:
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in
Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia (#1)...... 160
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly (#67)................. 161
The Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in
Congress from the State of New York (#3)............. 163
The Honorable Eliot L. Engel (#4)...................... 165
The Honorable Lois Frankel, a Representative in
Congress from the State of Florida................... 167
The Honorable William Keating, a Representative in
Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (#64) 169
The Honorable William Keating (#65).................... 170
The Honorable William Keating (#66).................... 171
The Honorable Edward R. Royce.......................... 172
The Honorable Brad Sherman, a Representative in
Congress from the State of California (#54).......... 175
The Honorable Brad Sherman (#58)....................... 176
The Honorable Brad Sherman (#60)....................... 177
The Honorable Brad Sherman (#62)....................... 178
The Honorable Norma J. Torres, a Representative in
Congress from the State of California................ 179
H.R. 5141, To make improvements to certain defense and security
assistance provisions and to authorize assistance for Israel,
and for other purposes......................................... 181
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 5141 offered by
the Honorable Edward R. Royce................................ 210
Amendments to the amendment in the nature of a substitute
to H.R. 5141 offered by:
The Honorable David Cicilline, a Representative in
Congress from the State of Rhode Island.............. 234
The Honorable Mark Meadows, a Representative in
Congress from the State of North Carolina............ 236
The Honorable Joe Wilson, a Representative in Congress
from the State of South Carolina..................... 237
H.R. 5433, To require the Secretary of State to design and
establish a Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP) to improve
Department of State cybersecurity and a bug bounty program to
identify and report vulnerabilities of internet-facing
information technology of the Department of State, and for
other purposes................................................. 238
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 5433 offered by
the Honorable Ted Lieu, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California.......................................... 246
H.R. 5535, To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956 regarding energy diplomacy and security within the
Department of State, and for other purposes.................... 255
Amendment to H.R. 5535 offered by the Honorable Adam Kinzinger,
a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois...... 260
H.R. 5677, To revise and improve authorities relating to
international security assistance, and for other purposes...... 261
Amendments to H.R. 5677 offered by:
The Honorable Eliot L. Engel............................... 288
The Honorable Ted Lieu..................................... 290
The Honorable Edward R. Royce.............................. 292
The Honorable Ted S. Yoho, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Florida................................ 294
H.R. 5681, To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2017 to clarify certain responsibilities of the
Global Engagement Center of the Department of State, and for
other purposes................................................. 295
Amendment to H.R. 5681 offered by the Honorable Brad Sherman... 303
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 332
Markup minutes................................................... 333
Markup summary................................................... 335
BUILD ACT OF 2018; UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SECURITY ASSISTANCE
AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018; HACK YOUR STATE DEPARTMENT ACT; ENERGY
DIPLOMACY ACT OF 2018; INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2018;
AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER AUTHORITIES ACT OF 2018
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Chairman Royce. The committee will come to order.
Pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up six bipartisan
measures. Without objection, all members may have 5 days to
submit statements or extraneous material on today's business.
As members were notified yesterday, we intend to consider
today's measures en bloc. And so, without objection, the
following items previously provided to members--by the way,
these are also in your packets. These will all be considered en
bloc and are considered as read.
We start with 5105. This is the BUILD Act, Mr. Yoho's the
BUILD Act. The Royce amendment in the nature of a substitute
and the following amendments: Connolly amendment 1 and 67;
Engel amendments 3 and 4; Frankel amendment No. 34; Keating
amendments 64, 65, and 66; Royce amendment 112; Sherman
amendments 54, 58, 60 and 62; and Torres amendment 90.
Now we have H.R. 5141, the U.S.-Israel Security Assistance
Authorization Act. The Royce amendment in the nature of a
substitute and the following amendments: Cicilline amendment
139; Meadows amendment 128; Wilson amendment 54.
Then we have the Hack Your State Department Act, H.R. 5433.
We have the Lieu amendment 115 in the nature of a substitute to
the bill.
We have H.R. 5535, the Energy Diplomacy Act, with the
Kinzinger amendment 27.
H.R. 5677, this is the International Security Assistance
Act, with the Engel amendment 1, the Lieu amendment 111, the
Royce amendment 111, and Yoho amendment 116.
And lastly, we have H.R. 5681, the Global Engagement Center
Authorities Act and the Sherman amendment 56.
[The information referred to follows:]
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Chairman Royce. And I will now recognize myself to speak on
today's business.
So first, we have H.R. 5677. This is the International
Security Assistance Act.
And the rise of terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and
Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, this has required a substantial
expansion of the programs that help our partners defend
themselves. So the State Department is charged with overseeing
these important efforts.
This bill, this bipartisan measure, improves the
Department's management of U.S. security assistance, including
military assistance and military education and training. And
the bill also strengthens congressional oversight over proposed
designations of state sponsors of terrorism. I will explain to
you why this was necessary.
Under current law, to delist a state sponsor of terrorism
the administration only needs to certify that the country has
refrained from supporting terrorist activity for a mere 6
months. The administrations from both parties have abused this
process, most notably in 2008 when North Korea was prematurely
delisted following commitments it made to dismantle its nuclear
weapons program.
Now, what this bill does is to make sure that that does not
happen again.
And next, we consider Chairman Yoho's H.R. 5105. This is
the BUILD Act.
After months of bipartisan work with the administration, I
am very pleased that we can advance this bill, which will help
the United States take a more strategic approach to
international development and economic empowerment in emerging
markets.
By harnessing the power of finance and the expertise of our
Nation's development professionals under one modern
institution, we can advance America's interests and offer
countries a robust alternative to investments by authoritarian
governments, such as what is happening with respect to Beijing.
And I really want to thank Congressman Yoho, but also all
the members of this committee who have been engaged in
supporting him in this effort with the amendments and the focus
on this issue.
Next, we have Representative Schneider's H.R. 5681. This is
the Global Engagement Center Authorities Act.
And under this bill, and with some help from Adam
Kinzinger, the GEC at the State Department, of course, has this
important mission of countering propaganda and disinformation
from foreign states, as well as terrorist groups like ISIS.
This bill strengthens the Center's leadership role and directs
it to coordinate related activities across the administration.
And, again, I appreciate the strong bipartisan interest
that members have shown on this issue. And in particular, I
want to note the work that goes on, not only on this committee,
but also in the NDAA, where Representative Kinzinger, who was
an early advocate of the GEC and has continued here to help
drive, along with Brad, the oversight efforts, he has made an
effort there to address it in the National Defense
Authorization Act.
Next, I want to thank Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and
Deutch for their leadership on H.R. 5141. This is the United
States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act.
Our partner Israel continues to face threats in every
direction, from state and from nonstate actors bent on
destroying the Jewish state. Iran, in particular, has taken its
aggression to Israel to new heights, if you are looking at the
missiles that have been placed in Syria there on the border.
This bipartisan bill deepens and updates our security
partnership with Israel to ensure that Israel can defend
itself, by itself, in the face of these evolving threats.
And next, we have H.R. 5535. This is the Energy Diplomacy
Act.
As America's energy production has increased and our
technologies have improved, our Nation's influence in global
energy policy has grown. So I applaud Chairman McCaul and
Ranking Member Engel for crafting bipartisan legislation to
ensure that the State Department has the leadership and
direction to support America's energy diplomacy.
Finally, we have H.R. 5433. This is the unusually named
Hack Your State Department Act.
The 2014 breach of the Department's unclassified computer
network exposed grave weaknesses in its public-facing
information technology systems.
This bill, sponsored by Representative Lieu and Chairman
Yoho, will help address cybersecurity gaps at the Department by
establishing a bug bounty pilot program. This is based on the
Department of Defense's successful Hack the Pentagon Program.
And what this does is it encourages white hats, white hats
security researchers, to discover and report vulnerabilities,
hence the name of this.
And I now recognize the ranking member, Mr. Engel of New
York, for his remarks.
Mr. Engel. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
calling this markup.
We have six good measures before us today. I am happy to
support them all. And as always, I want to thank all members on
both sides of the aisle for their hard work.
The first measure on our agenda today is the BUILD Act, a
proposal from Representatives Yoho and Adam Smith to transform
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or OPIC, into a
development finance institution.
It has been more than a decade since our committee made
revisions to the OPIC charter and now we need new approaches to
the way our Government uses credit programs to spur economic
development and tackle poverty around the world.
Promoting global prosperity is a major goal for our foreign
policy, and economic assistance and development credit is an
essential tool for achieving that.
I want to highlight for my colleagues that this legislation
carries forward existing law and policies regarding the
protections of workers' right and the environment, and I
support moving the bill forward.
Next, I would like to thank Chairman Royce for bringing
forward his bill, the International Security Assistance Act.
This measure strengthens the State Department's role in
coordinating American security assistance to other countries.
This is a job for our diplomats. In recent years, we have
seen more and more of the State Department's responsibilities
trickle to other agencies. And this is a trend we need to stop.
So I strongly support this bill.
It is important that we strengthen our international
security partnerships with our allies. So I would like to thank
Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and Deutch, the chairman and
ranking member on the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee, for their leadership on the U.S.-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act.
This legislation codifies the 2016 Memorandum of
Understanding on assistance signed by the United States and
Israel and shepherded by the Obama administration. This MOU and
the assistance that comes from it represent the unbreakable
bond between the United States and Israel and the shared
interests and values that have been the hallmark of our
relationship. We cannot put a dollar amount on this
relationship, but what President Obama accomplished in this MOU
showed the strength of these ties.
The legislation also includes provisions authored by
Representatives Boyle, Schneider, Kilmer, Crist, and Langevin
to enhance all the dimensions of the U.S.-Israel relationship,
from cybersecurity to drone detection to space exploration.
Cybersecurity must also be a top priority when it comes to
our own Government. And that is why I am proud to support the
Hack Your State Department Act offered by Representatives Yoho
and Lieu. This bill will strengthen the State Department's
cybersecurity in two ways.
Firstly, it will require the Secretary to take a hard look
at the Department's cyber vulnerabilities.
Secondly, it will establish a pilot program in which the
State Department will reward people who identify unknown
security risks in the Department's computer systems. These
ideas are modeled on programs being used successfully in the
Department of Defense, and the private sector as well.
This bill will help strengthen our cyber defenses, and I
urge all of our members to support it.
Advancing America's energy security is also a vital aspect
of U.S. foreign policy. Congressman McCaul's Energy Diplomacy
Act of 2018 addresses this critical issue. Congress must ensure
that the State Department is able to protect and promote our
energy policies abroad.
This bill helps in that effort by creating an Assistant
Secretary of State for Energy Resources and requiring the
Secretary of State to make sure that the State Department has
personnel dedicated to energy diplomacy and security.
I support this measure and I hope all members will do the
same.
Another important measure for our security is the Global
Engagement Center Authorities Act offered by Congressmen
Schneider and Lieu. The Global Engagement Center is charged
with leading the interagency effort to counter Russia and other
states that use information warfare to undermine democracies.
Representatives Kinzinger and Lieu played an important role
in establishing this mission, and the Center's work is more
important now than ever. Congress made $120 million over the
past 2 years available to the GEC, specifically to counter
foreign propaganda and disinformation.
Despite that urgent need, the administration has not used
any of this funding. I don't know why. And their self-imposed
hiring freezes have prevented them from doing this critical job
effectively.
This legislation will update the Center's authorities and
enhance this committee's ability to conduct oversight so that
we can put the Center in a better position to succeed.
I support this bill along with the other measures we are
considering today. I again thank all our members on both sides
of the aisle.
And I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Royce. Thank you, Mr. Engel.
You know, the ONE Campaign, representatives of the ONE
Campaign that have provided a lot of technical policy feedback
to us and also a lot of advocacy, we want to thank them and
other advocacy groups that are supporting the BUILD Act.
And I will just ask those advocacy groups, the ONE
Campaign, if they could stand to be acknowledged for a minute.
We appreciate your engagement and involvement here today.
[Applause.]
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
We go now to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Chairman Royce and
Ranking Member Engel, for bringing forth these bipartisan
measures before us this morning.
I would like to speak in support of H.R. 5141, the United
States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, a
bill I authored alongside my dear friend and fellow south
Florida colleague, Ted Deutch.
We all know the threats that the democratic Jewish State of
Israel faces, and we all know how valued our friendship is with
our partners in Jerusalem. A strong and secure Israel is in the
best interest of the United States, and a strong and secure
America is in the best interest of Israel.
This is precisely why Ted and I authored this bill, first
and foremost, to ensure that Israel has what it needs in order
to defend herself and her citizens from the myriad of threats
that she faces. We will authorize security assistance for
Israel at levels at no less than $3.3 billion a year, in
accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding of 2016, for
the next 5 years.
We will also ensure that the War Reserves Stockpile
authority for Israel, which may now include precision-guided
munitions, will also be authorized for the next 5 years. We
also make sure that loan guarantees for Israel are extended for
the next 5 years.
What we are doing is guaranteeing Israel peace of mind for
the next 5 years and signaling that the bipartisan support for
Israel in the United States Congress is strong and getting
stronger.
With Iran creeping ever closer to Israel's borders and
threatening to attack Israel from the north, our friends need
the support now more than ever.
We also authored this bill to ensure that we take our level
of bilateral cooperation to even greater heights.
I want to commend and thank Congressmen Langevin, Kilmer,
Boyle, and Schneider for the work that they have previously
done that helped to contribute to the bill before us today.
There is so much that we can do to strengthen the U.S.-
Israel relationship. This bill is an important step in that
direction. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
hope that we can bring it to the floor in the near future.
I would also like to say a few words about enterprise
funds, Mr. Chairman. I have worked closely with these funds and
have authorized the creation of a Jordan Enterprise Fund of the
Jordan defense bill, which I authored alongside Ted Deutch.
USAID has had the purview over enterprise funds, and I
believe that USAID should remain the lead agency responsible
for enterprise funds. We know what we are getting with the
current set up. USAID has learned valuable lessons to make
these more effective and more valuable U.S. foreign policy
tools. We should continue to support the current structure and
functionality of the enterprise funds and use our strengths at
USAID to grow them.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that opportunity. And I yield
back.
Chairman Royce. Just if I could respond briefly, because
existing funds will stay at USAID, just to reassure the
gentlelady. And under the BUILD Act, they will, USAID, of
course, is still going to have a role, just to assure you of
that.
And now we go to Mr. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
Mr. Connolly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just briefly, I support all of the six bills in front of us
and congratulate our colleagues for their hard work.
I would like to highlight two amendments, and I thank the
chair and the ranking member for including them in the en bloc
acceptance package.
The first amendment codifies the USAID Administrator's
involvement in the selection of the Chief Development Officer
for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The
Chief Development Officer will coordinate the Corporation's
development of policies and implementation efforts with other
development agencies, and as such, it is a critical leader of
America's premier development agency, so that person has a say
in that selection process.
This amendment is consistent with the goal of the Global
Partnerships Act, a comprehensive reorganization of the Foreign
Assistance Act, to strengthen the role of the USAID
Administrator and to empower USAID as the lead development
agency of the United States Government.
We had a hearing on this, and this amendment kind of grew
out of that conversation. So, again, I thank the chair.
And finally, the second amendment clarifies that the BUILD
Act is covered foreign assistance pursuant to the Foreign Aid
Transparency and Accountability Act, FATAA, which I introduced
with my friend Ted Poe. This committee requires the President
to establish guidelines on measurable goals, performance
metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans for foreign aid
programs.
That act is bringing needed transparency to an often
misunderstood part of the Federal budget. Its implementation
should be part and parcel of any discussion on reforming U.S.
foreign assistance.
This amendment ensures that the new U.S. development
finance institution will be subject to the same rigorous
transparency and accountability standards as any other foreign
assistance program.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Connolly.
We go now to Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Like my other colleagues, I am very glad to be supporting
all six bills. But I want to focus especially on H.R. 5141. I
thank Chairwoman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen for her extraordinary
leadership in introducing this bipartisan bill along with Mr.
Deutch. It is a very, very good bill and, hopefully, it becomes
law sooner rather than later.
The bill responds to a crisis of converging threats that
imperil the security of our closest ally, Israel. Iranian
forces and their terrorist proxies now surround Israel from
nearly every direction.
With Iranian support, Hezbollah continues to amass a
dangerous arsenal of thousands of advanced rockets--some put it
at 150,000--that threaten main population centers in Israel.
Hamas, along with Iranian backing, threatens Israel from
the south and west with terror tunnels, rocket barrages, and
now with a cynical campaign that manipulates civilian protests
and uses so-called human shields to threaten Israel's sovereign
border.
To the east in Syria, Iran continues to carve out strategic
outposts where it can station advanced weapon systems and
fighters to challenge Israel's defenses.
Faced with this constellation of fanatical enemies, Israel
cannot spare a moment's vigilance, and neither can we, for the
sake of our close friend and ally. By authorizing enhanced
military cooperation between our countries and further
enshrining Israel's qualitative military edge, H.R. 5141
guarantees that Israel will remain far and away our most
capable ally.
The bill authorizes foreign military financing at an annual
level of not less than $3.3 billion agreed to in the bilateral
MOU negotiated under the Obama administration. But crucially,
the bill specifies that the assistance should not be less than
$3.3 billion, a clear statement that this MOU constitutes a
floor rather than a ceiling.
The bill's other provisions facilitate the transfer of
advanced precision-guided missiles for Israel's use and lays
the groundwork for bilateral cooperation that will assist
Israel in confronting an evolving landscape of threats,
including from unmanned aerial vehicles, cyber attacks, and
nonstate actors.
The many facets of cooperation supported by this bill, from
international development to space exploration to
cybersecurity, make this a very, very important bill, not just
for Israel but also for our security as well.
I thank the chairlady for her leadership.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Smith.
We go to Ted Deutch of Florida.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to you and Mr.
Engel for bringing forward a good slate of bills today.
And while I support all of the measures before us, I would
like to focus my remarks on H.R. 5141, the U.S.-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act.
I am proud to have introduced this legislation with my dear
friend and south Florida colleague, Chairman Emeritus Ros-
Lehtinen. I also want to thank Mr. Boyle and Mr. Schneider for
contributing key portions of this bill.
And I would like to take a moment, if I may, to recognize
and commend the incredible legislative contributions that
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen has made to the U.S.-Israel relationship
over her nearly 30 years in Congress. This bill is yet another
example of her commitment to Israel's safety and security and
to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship, and it has been my
honor to support her in that effort.
The United States and Israel share an unbreakable bond
rooted in our mutual security interests and our shared values
of democracy and freedom. This is a relationship that has stood
strong through both Republican and Democratic Presidencies,
through Republican- and Democratic-controlled Congresses, and
it has done so because support for Israel has always been, and
must always be, bipartisan.
Today, it is my hope that Congress will once again reaffirm
that bipartisan commitment to Israel's security by sending this
good bill to the floor.
The U.S.-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act
codifies the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between our two
countries that provides Israel with an unprecedented amount of
security assistance, $38 billion over 10 years. These funds
ensure that Israel will have the means to procure the
capabilities it needs to defend itself. In addition, nearly all
of that money comes back to the United States and supports
American jobs.
This bill also enhances Israel's current capabilities by
endorsing the provision of precision-guided weapons to the War
Reserves Stockpile, which Israel can draw upon in times of
conflicts. It strengthens Israel's qualitative military edge to
meet new threats. And it authorizes cooperation between our
countries on UAVs.
The bill also broadens our relationship outside of the
security and defense sectors. It expands cooperation on cyber,
space, and includes authorization for a global MOU between
Israel and USAID to engage in joint humanitarian assistance
projects throughout the world.
Just this week, we have seen the terrorist group Hezbollah
make gains through Lebanon's parliamentary elections. We have
watched as Iran establishes a permanent military presence in
Syria and continues its support for terrorists. There were
reports just yesterday of impending escalation between Iran and
Israel.
We have seen weeks of violence at the Gaza border as Hamas
attempts to breach the Israeli border, just as they have
attempted to do through their terror tunnels.
We here in Congress must do everything we can to prevent
Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability, and we must
also ensure Israel's ability to defend itself against all
threats. These threats are real. They are not just a threat to
Israel, they are ultimately a threat to our own security
interests in the region.
I remain committed to Israel's long-term security and
safety. I remain committed to peace. And I remain committed to
a strong and thriving U.S.-Israel relationship.
I would like to thank the many members of this committee
who are cosponsors of this bill. And, again, I would like to
thank Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and especially
Chairman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen. I urge the passage of this good
bill.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. We go now to Mr. Steve Chabot of Ohio.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We have a number of excellent bills before us today, but I
am going to keep my remarks brief because I also have a markup
in the Judiciary Committee going on right now, and at 11
o'clock I have to chair the Small Business Committee.
Chairman Royce. We want to encourage you and everyone else
to do the same.
Mr. Chabot. I will be very brief. But I just do want to
express my support for H.R. 5141, the U.S.-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act of 2018. As a longtime supporter
of Israel and as a cosponsor of this legislation, I want to
thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and Mr. Deutch for their leadership both
on this bill and on the many issues affecting Israel and the
Middle East as a whole.
Israel is one of our most important allies, without a
doubt, and shares our values in a part of the world that so
often sees authoritarian governments trample on the most basic
of human rights. We must remain committed to our partnership
with Israel, especially as they face the ongoing Iran
challenge.
So with that, I would urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, as well as the other bills before us this morning.
And I think I was brief. And I will yield back my time.
Thank you.
Chairman Royce. Mr. Ami Bera of California.
Mr. Bera. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And once again I will echo the sentiment that I appreciate
the work of the chairman and the ranking member in bringing
this bipartisan package of bills to the floor.
I want to just take a brief moment to talk about the
amendment offered by the ranking member, Mr. Engel, dealing
with major defense partners in the International Security
Assistance Act.
This amendment is a continuation of Congress' work to
strengthen our relationship with India, particularly in the
defense sphere. In 2015, we help make India a major defense
partner. What we hoped that would do is enable India's access
to a wide range of dual-use technologies at levels equivalent
to our major allies, like NATO, Japan, South Korea, and
Australia.
And last year in the NDAA we required a unified interagency
definition of the major defense partner to standardize it
across the bureaucracy. That was our intent. But I know we
still have concerns about the implementation of the major
defense partner designation. That is why Ranking Member Engel's
amendment is so critical.
For arm sales, their review and approvals, it puts major
defense partners like India on the same level as our NATO,
South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Israeli allies.
It adds real teeth to the designation at a time when our
relationship with India is more important than ever.
So I thank the ranking member for offering the amendment
and the committee for supporting its inclusion in the en bloc
package.
And if I may, I would like to yield some time to my
colleague from Rhode Island, Mr. Cicilline.
Mr. Cicilline. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I, too,
have a markup in Judiciary and wanted to just say thank you to
the chairman and the ranking member for bringing the bills
before the committee. I am proud to support all of the bills on
our agenda.
I wanted to specifically thank the ranking member and the
chairman for including my amendment in the en bloc to H.R.
5141. This is an issue I have worked on for a number of years.
And my amendment will build on the initiatives included in the
bill on cybersecurity by requiring a report from the Secretary
of State examining the potential benefits of creating a U.S.-
Israel Cyber Center of Excellence.
As we cooperate more with our ally Israel on cyber issues,
I think we should be exploring the possibility of establishing
a more permanent collaboration and a joint venture between the
United States and Israel, between our educational institutions,
so that we can share best practices on cybersecurity.
A Cybersecurity Center of Excellence would bring together
leaders in academia, the private sector, the nonprofit
community, and government agencies to research and develop new
strategies for preventing cyber attacks.
This amendment asks the Secretary of State to explore the
potential benefits and any pitfalls or disadvantages that this
might produce from establishing such a center and report that
back to Congress. I am, of course, hopeful it will set the
context to move forward on this idea.
And I really want to thank the chairman and ranking member
for agreeing to include this on the en bloc amendments and urge
support of the balance of all of the legislation, and thank the
gentleman for yielding.
And with that, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Cicilline.
We now go to Mr. Ted Yoho of Florida.
Mr. Yoho. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
Engel, for holding today's markup with all the amendments and
the bills, especially H.R. 5105, the BUILD Act.
I would like to thank you, Chairman Royce, and your team,
in particular Andy Taylor, for your assistance over the past
year in crafting this important legislation, along with our
partners in the Senate, Senator Corker and Senator Coons. I
would also like to thank James Walsh on my team, who did the
yeoman's work to bring this bill to this stage.
Today America is confronting unprecedented instability and
growing humanitarian crises around the world, all of which have
a direct impact on our national security and economic interests
at home. The effective deliverance of foreign assistance is
crucial, especially in the current fiscal climate in which it
is imperative for the U.S. Government to use each and every
dollar more efficiently and, of course, more effectively.
The BUILD Act will help ensure the United States delivers
foreign assistance in an efficient way and effective manner by
catalyzing the private sector to invest in developing
countries. This is a break from the old model of spending $1 in
a country in the form of foreign aid, often not getting a long-
term return, versus investing in a country's infrastructure
and/or economy, a way of moving from aid to trade.
U.S. businesses have capital to invest and lead the world
in the understanding of capital markets and sophisticated
financial transactions. Despite our corporate advantages, other
countries, especially China, are using development finance
institutions more effectively to expand their influences in the
developing world.
Our tools for development finances are dispersed across too
many Federal agencies, and the primary U.S. development agency,
OPIC, has not been significantly updated since its creation in
1971. If one were to compare an automobile from 1971 to today's
high-tech vehicles, I think we will all agree there have been
some significant changes.
The BUILD Act is such a vehicle that will modernize our
foreign finance development and bring it into the 21st century.
This legislation will become an instrument that will project
into the future and to help guide the foreign policies of the
United States, and that this and subsequent administrations can
use to create stronger relationships with needed countries and
the future partners in economies and trade.
A modernized Development Finance Corporation is imperative
to capitalizing upon those changes and will help transition
countries again from aid to trade. And if you look at our top
15 trading partners, 12 of those were recipients of foreign
aid. This bill's goal is to help facilitate that transition.
We want to help countries become robust trading partners in
the United States. By doing so, we will be helping create
stable, sufficient societies around the world and open up new
markets for U.S. goods and services.
There is truth in the saying, a rising tide lifts all
boats. The BUILD Act will help make this a reality. And I thank
you for your consideration and support.
I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Yoho.
Again, this is going to allow us to double the book of
business in terms of development finance, but it is also going
to mobilize a lot of private capital; and something else we
can't do right now, which is to work with our partners, the
British and others on the ground. So we thank the committee
members for their support.
Lois Frankel of Florida.
Ms. Frankel. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I want to thank Mr.
Royce and Mr. Engel for your bipartisan leadership and all my
colleagues for their good work on these bills, which I support.
I would like to highlight, too, just the following.
Mr. Yoho, I thank you for your sponsorship of H.R. 5105,
the BUILD Act of 2018. And I thank the chair and ranking member
for putting my amendment, which I am going to talk about, in
the en bloc amendment.
So I am calling attention to a provision that urges the new
Development Finance Corporation, which this bill establishes,
to work to improve women's economic opportunities and outcomes
and takes steps to mitigate gender gaps, which are very, very
significant.
It also requires the corporation to measure development
outcomes broken down on gender basis, tracking whether women
are reaping the benefits of this support.
Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago we
unanimously passed out of this committee the Women's
Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, recognizing that
when women are educated and given the tools for economic
success, their communities are safer, stronger, and more
peaceful.
If women, who account for half the world's working-age
population, do not achieve their full economic potential the
global economy will suffer. And as the chairman said, I think
it was last week, Mr. Royce, that advancing women's economic
equality toward parity with men could add trillions, and I mean
trillions and trillions of dollars to the global GDP in just 7
years.
So this bill before us will allow the new corporation to
empower women. I will give you an example, like Manjula from
India, who worked 15 years in a garment factory, long hours and
barely any pay. She dreamed of starting her own business so she
could buy a house, educate her daughter. The problem was she
had no access to capital until she received a small loan from a
micro finance institution supported by OPIC.
And with that, not only did Manjula start her own factory,
she created dozens of jobs, paying workers fairly so they can
provide for their families and making their community more
secure and peaceful. And stories like this show that investing
in women is not only humane, it is good economic sense,
trillions of dollars of economic sense.
As I said this before, I will say it again, when women
succeed, the world succeeds.
I also want to highlight and support H.R. 5141, the U.S.-
Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act. Again, I am going
to compliment, as my colleagues did, Representatives Ros-
Lehtinen and Deutch.
This bill recognizes Israel's right to defend itself and
writes into law the continued cooperation between our two
countries. With yesterday's decision from President Trump to
withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear agreement, ensuring our
great friend and ally is safe and has all the resources it
needs to protect itself is more important than ever.
And when you look at the neighborhood, there is reason to
be worried: Hamas in the Gaza rebuilding its rocket arsenal and
calling for Israel's destruction, Iran constructing its
military bases in Syria, ISIS wreaks havoc in the Sinai, while
Hezbollah in Lebanon points 150,000 missiles at Israel.
So we must do all we can to strengthen Israel's defenses.
And this important bill codifies the Memorandum of
Understanding signed by the Obama administration with Israel,
the largest U.S. military assistance package ever, and it also
expands U.S.-Israel cooperation in areas of mutual interest,
like establishing a U.S.-Israel cybersecurity research and
development grant program and authorizing USAID to enter into
an agreement with Israel to help lift low-income countries.
In an increasingly polarized Washington, Israel can never
be a partisan issue. Defending Israel is in our national
security interest.
So I urge support of all these measures, and I, again,
thank everyone for their bipartisan support.
I yield back, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Royce. Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman
Frankel.
We have Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.
Mr. Kinzinger. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thanks
for bringing up this great slate of bills before us today. And
I want to thank both sides of the aisle.
I want to thank my colleague from Illinois, Mr. Schneider,
for building on the work Congressman Lieu and I began last
Congress.
Following the 2016 election, it was determined by the heads
of American intelligence agencies that Russia had developed and
executed a strategy to influence the American elections through
online propaganda operations. While it can't be disputed that
the operation occurred, there is no evidence that this
information operation affected the outcome of the election.
This kind of action is a direct assault on American
democracy, and the United States needed the proper tools to
defend its interests against this type of foreign manipulation.
In response, Congressman Lieu and I introduced the
Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016,
which was later included in the fiscal year 2017 National
Defense Authorization Act.
This legislation created the Global Engagement Center with
the purpose of streamlining our counterpropaganda efforts.
Unfortunately, the State Department, under its previous
leadership, squandered over two-thirds of the congressionally
allocated funds that were to be transferred to the GEC from the
Department of Defense, resulting in delayed efforts to counter
propaganda. We now have an opportunity to correct course.
I am a cosponsor of H.R. 5681, the Global Engagement Center
Authorities Act, along with my colleagues, Mr. Schneider and
Mr. Lieu. This bill will strengthen the organization by
mandating the GEC take a more direct approach to countering
both state and nonstate actor propaganda around the world.
This legislation isn't about politics, and there have been
some sad attempts to make this about politics. This is purely
about ensuring that the United States has the proper tools to
combat all forms of online propaganda, whether being spread by
Russians or being spread by ISIS.
We know that state actors are already working to influence
the upcoming midterm elections, and we need to ensure that our
Government is fighting against these kinds of assaults on our
democracy, not to mention the democracies of our friends. I
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
And also, I would like to quickly discuss an amendment that
I have offered to Congressman McCaul's Energy Diplomacy Act.
This simple amendment, only nine words long, would ensure that
the personnel working on energy diplomacy issues within the
Department of State do so in coordination with the Department
of Energy.
This addition will help integrate our domestic and foreign
policies relating to energy resources, energy technologies, and
nuclear nonproliferation.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
Joaquin Castro of Texas.
Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
Engel.
I want to also congratulate all the members whose
bipartisan bills are being considered here today. The bills
considered here today address important issues in the world and
I am pleased to support all of them.
Thank you to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Representative Deutch
for introducing the bill today authorizing security assistance
to Israel.
For decades, Israel and the United States have had a strong
partnership that is based on shared values. Given the
precarious position Israel occupies in the Middle East and the
proliferation of challenges in the region with Iran's malign
activity and the crisis in Syria, it is important that the
United States supports Israel by guaranteeing a robust security
assistance package.
I would also like to commend my friend Representative Mike
McCaul and Ranking Member Engel in introducing the Energy
Diplomacy Act to ensure the United States continues global
leadership as an innovator in energy technology and practices.
I also voice my support for the Hack Your State Department
Act, introduced by Representatives Lieu and Yoho. This
important legislation will bring much-needed improvements to
the State Department's cybersecurity apparatus. This measure
also comes at a time when cybersecurity is increasingly
necessary to protect the interests of the United States and the
well-being of our citizens, including our diplomats.
In recent years we have seen a new form of information
warfare waged through the internet by terrorists group like al-
Qaeda, ISIS, and state actors, such as Russia. The Global
Engagement Center in the State Department is an important
office to counter these activities and set the record straight.
I was pleased to lead a letter with my colleague Ted Lieu
of California in March urging then-Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson to explain why the State Department had not used any
resources allocated to this Center in 2017 to counter foreign
propaganda designed to influence elections and undermine
democracies, just as Russia did in the U.S. Presidential
election.
This legislation introduced by Representatives Schneider
and Lieu strengthens and defines the activities of the Global
Engagement Center, and I am pleased to support this legislation
that will help the United States counter propaganda.
Also, regarding the International Security Assistance Act
of 2018, international security assistance is an important tool
for U.S. diplomacy and congressional oversight over this facet
of our foreign policy, and it is very critical.
I would also like to thank Ranking Member Engel for his
amendment improving the ability of the United States to have a
closer defense partnership with India. The U.S.-India defense
and security relationship is an anchor of our engagement in the
Indo-Pacific, and this should be welcomed. And I look forward
to greater cooperation with India that this measure will
enable.
And finally, the BUILD Act of 2018. The Asian Development
Bank noted that there is a $26 trillion infrastructure gap in
Asia that restricts the ability of the region to reach its full
economic potential. Other regions, including the Americas and
Africa, are in desperate need for investment as well.
Some countries have taken advantage of this demand by
pursuing government-financed infrastructure investment, often
with low standards, that leave countries in debt and beholden
to their lenders. We rightly criticize these practices, but we
must also provide alternatives for countries that can become
important economic partners to the United States with the right
investments.
One of the strengths of our country has always been our
engaged and dynamic private sector, whose investments abroad
need to be leveraged as an instrument of our foreign policy.
The BUILD Act does precisely this by empowering government to
better support these international investments by U.S. firms
that keep in mind the responsibilities we have to respect the
dignity of labor and the environment. And I support all of
these measures, and I know that my colleagues will as well.
Thank you.
Chairman Royce. We go know to Chairman Mike McCaul of
Texas.
Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The bills before us are critical to strengthening U.S.
engagement and protecting our national security interests
across the globe. I would like to commend the bipartisan
efforts of my colleagues, and I look forward to advancing these
measures on the floor.
I also would like to thank Chairman Royce for including my
legislation, the Energy Diplomacy Act, as part of this markup.
Across the globe, our friends and allies are looking for a
stable and reliable supply of American energy. However, regions
such as Eastern Europe and our allies are still living under
the heavy hand of Russia, a destabilizing regime that
constantly exploits the vulnerabilities posed by Europe's
reliance on their natural gas.
Since coming to Congress, I have advocated for a foreign
policy that helps alleviate our allies' reliance on
unpredictable regimes to meet their energy needs. In 2015, I
helped champion the repeal of the outdated crude oil export
ban. Now U.S. producers are finding new customers in both Asia
and Europe.
But we must go a step further, and that is why I offered
the Energy Diplomacy Act. This legislation elevates the Bureau
of Energy Resources at the State Department by replacing the
international energy affairs coordinator with an Assistant
Secretary to carry out the Department's functions
internationally on behalf of the United States. It also ensures
the State Department is staffed with sufficient personnel to
support this mission.
This will empower the State Department to promote and
advance a bold energy diplomacy abroad.
So, again, I would like to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking
Member Engel for holding this important markup and supporting
my legislation. And with that, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
We go now to Mr. Espaillat of New York.
Mr. Espaillat. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
Engel. Thank you both for continuing this extraordinary
bipartisan work of this committee.
I am proud to support all six bills today, including to
cosponsor H.R. 5141, the United States-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act.
This important bill will further enhance our cooperation
with Israel and help to ensure that Israel would always be able
to defend itself, particularly in light of the recent clashes
in Syria and at Israel's northern border. We must work to
prevent a military escalation in this region.
It remains imperative that the U.S. does its part to help
our ally Israel protect itself from all threats, and this
package will just help do that.
In addition to that, I support H.R. 5105, the BUILD Act,
which will establish the International Development Finance
Corporation. This bill moves to improve the allocation of U.S.
private assets in international development. And I am
encouraged that this legislation, with broad support, will
promote growth and economic partnerships between the United
States companies and foreign countries.
The projects built from this will help to combat poverty,
hunger, and health crises, while furthering labor and human
rights, protecting the environment, and promoting American
entrepreneurship.
H.R. 5433, the Hack Your State Department Act, is a crucial
piece of legislation to improve cybersecurity at the State
Department. We have learned the hard way the lessons of not
being prepared to prevent cyber attacks, and we must all work
together to prevent, in our democracy, future cyber threats.
Provisions in this legislation will work to improve
processes at the State Department for identifying and fixing
vulnerabilities and utilize best practices to advance data
security within the Department.
H.R. 5535, the Energy Diplomacy Act, is an important step
to furthering U.S. energy diplomatic priorities by codifying
provisions within the State Department dedicated to energy
matters.
In the 21st century it is beyond clear the importance of
energy development and security. Ensuring that the State
Department has leadership and the capacity to appropriately
handle these issues is necessary for the many challenges our
country may face in the coming years.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, H.R. 5681, the Global Engagement
Center Authorities Act, will strengthen the Center's ability to
counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by giving it the
authority to direct and coordinate Federal efforts to counter
propaganda.
At a time where it often seems that the truth is under
attack, it is important that our efforts to promote accurate
information are coordinated and disseminated in the best
methods. The authorities of the Global Engagement Center will
help to improve upon best practices and work to stop the spread
of false information.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the remaining
part of my time.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Espaillat. I appreciate it.
We go to John Curtis of Utah.
Mr. Curtis. Chairman Royce and Ranking Member, thank you
for holding this important markup today.
As the Foreign Affairs Committee moves six bills forward
with bipartisan support today, I want to speak specifically
about H.R. 5141, the United States-Israel Security Assistance
Authorization Act, of which I am a cosponsor. I want to thank
Representative Ros-Lehtinen and Representative Deutch for their
leadership in introducing this bill.
I am a strong supporter of the U.S.-Israeli alliance.
Having just returned from the Middle East, I am more concerned
about Iran's aggression in the region and more committed than
ever to strengthen U.S.-Israeli security cooperation.
H.R. 5141 reauthorizes and improves defense and security
assistance for Israel through the year 2023. Among many other
important provisions, this bill also strengthens U.S.-Israel
cybersecurity cooperation and extends the War Reserves
Stockpile authority for the benefit of both the United States
and Israel.
I encourage my colleagues on this committee to support this
critical legislation.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield my time.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Curtis.
We go now to Mr. Brad Sherman of California.
Mr. Sherman. Mr. Chairman, excellent slate of bills. I
commend everyone who is involved. I support them all. I have
cosponsored most.
I want to focus first on the BUILD Act. You and I have been
working to reauthorize OPIC back from over a decade ago. We had
a bill that passed this committee and passed the House and then
was held up in the Senate to reauthorize OPIC, the most
unfortunately named, and now to be renamed, organization in the
Federal Government. The failure of the Senate to take up that
bill is further proof of the desirability of a unicameral
legislature.
The BUILD Act that is before us starts by saying that the
new DFC, Development Finance Corporation, will carry on the
policies adopted by OPIC. That is particularly important
because OPIC included in its policies many of the provisions of
the bill that you and I, Mr. Chairman, had back a decade ago.
They have given me further assurance as to two of their
policies.
The first one commits them to continuing their policy of
not participating in a project in the Caucasus that
deliberately excludes Armenia. That is to say, a transportation
project that skirts around Armenia tying Georgia and Azerbaijan
together, rather than going through Armenia. And the second
relates to their environmental policy.
In addition, I would like to thank you for including in the
en bloc four of my amendments on this bill.
The first and most important requires the agency to take
into consideration--first, it requires them to get a
certification that its beneficiaries do not conduct any
activity subject to U.S. sanctions. And this is, I think, a
change and improvement in precedent, requires that
certification to apply on behalf of--the beneficiary to certify
on behalf of itself and all of its affiliates up and down the
chain.
That is an important provision, especially as we continue
to use sanctions to achieve our foreign policy objectives.
Second is that the agency will take into consideration
whether the country engages in a boycott against a friendly
U.S. country. Of course the Export Administration Act already
prohibits U.S. companies from doing this, especially prohibits
them from complying with the Arab League boycott of Israel. It
is common sense that the new DFC selects projects with that in
mind.
Third, it is important that the report that the DFC sends
us includes a report on how well its projects focus on human
rights, labor, environment, and social policies.
And finally, when it comes to the makeup of the board, we
should take into consideration not only banking acumen and
experience, but experience in environmental development and
labor experience. It is so important that we include people on
this board focused on American jobs.
As to the Global Engagement Center Authorities Act, I want
to condemn--commend--Representatives Schneider and Lieu for
drafting this. And I want to commend the recorder for recording
my words accurately and noting that I used the word
``commend.''
In particular, I want to thank the chairman for including
in the en bloc my amendment to say that we will support
communicating in provincial languages, not just the leading or
official language of any particular country. It is particularly
important with regard to Pakistan that we reach out in Sindhi
and other regional languages of Pakistan.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we are taking up the Energy
Diplomacy Act. It is critical that we have a diplomacy focused
on energy, but the most important part of that is nuclear
energy and the risk of nuclear proliferation. And I would hope
that we would have hearings on the possible nuclear cooperation
agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Chairman Royce. Well, thank you. I will share with the
gentleman that in our prior roles, by the way, for the members
here, as chairman and ranking member of the Nonproliferation
Subcommittee, Mr. Sherman and I have worked on this issue, and
we held a number of, I thought, critical hearings on this
issue.
I share your concern, as you know, Mr. Sherman, that we
need to prevent more countries that currently lack the capacity
from undertaking enrichment and undertaking reprocessing.
So, as you know, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and
North Africa held a hearing several months ago on this issue on
the proposed 123 agreement. And under the Atomic Energy Act,
this committee is required by law to hold a hearing on any 123
agreement that the U.S. negotiates with another country and
transmits to Congress.
So I can assure my colleagues----
Mr. Sherman. Mr. Chairman, I would hope that we would have
a hearing before the agreement is sent to Congress, because
that is when the hearing can enlighten the administration as to
what ought to be in that agreement. Once the agreement is
submitted to Congress, in the past it has been, well, not a
fait accompli, but Congress is in less a position to get the
right kind of agreement after it has already been signed by the
executive.
Chairman Royce. We are glad to take that under
consideration. We will talk with you and Mr. Engel, certainly,
Mr. Sherman.
Mr. Sherman. Thank you.
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
Mr. Sherman. I yield back.
Chairman Royce. All right. We go now to Mr. Ted Poe, I
think is next, from Texas.
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of Mr. Yoho's
bill, the BUILD Act and commend him for his lead in it. The
bill provides much needed reform on how we invest in
development dollars abroad. When we provide loans and financial
assistance to foreign partners, our goal should always be to
move them from aid recipients to prosperous self-sufficient
economies.
Having oversight of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, or OPIC, I have seen the need to consolidate our
development financial institutions to better compete with
global rivals. In its place, a more efficient agency will be
created that can allow improved oversight of U.S. financial
support and capital.
With the BUILD Act and the creation of the U.S.
International Development Finance Corporation, we have a
powerful new foreign policy tool. By spurring market-based
economic growth and private sector development, the U.S. can
build strong independent partners around the world. This
reduces the burden on the U.S. in the long run, and it directly
strengthens our national security.
When States are economically prosperous and not vulnerable
to predatory foreign powers hoping to manipulate weaker States
for their strategic gain, it makes America safer and regions
more stable.
As chairman of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Subcommittee, I like the idea of getting our friends abroad
from aid recipients to trade partners. The free flow of trade
is a great way to forge stronger relations between nations,
preserve peace, open new markets for American products.
I am also proud to, once again, work with Representative
Connolly to ensure that transparency and accountability of our
Government's programs. I have joined him in introducing an
amendment to this important bill that will ensure that the new
development finance institution established by this legislation
will be subject to the same transparency and accountability
standards and guidelines that became law as a result of the
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act where we were
both the original cosponsors. So I thank Mr. Connolly for
introducing this important amendment.
I am also pleased to support H.R. 5141, the U.S.-Israel
Security Assistance Act introduced by Chairman Ros-Lehtinen.
Israel is our most trusted and reliable ally in the Middle
East. And since its establishment, it has been under constant
siege by neighboring adversaries that hate Israel because it is
a democratic and a Jewish state. Outnumbered and facing attack
on nearly all sides, Israel's security situation is unique in
the world, and their intelligence is excellent.
I personally am grateful for the intel Mr. Netanyahu has
supplied the United States on Iran and its quest for nukes. We
also must maintain a military advantage over its foes. Israel
needs to be an industrial might that we can provide help to. By
keeping Israel secure and capable of deterring potential foes
like Iran and its proxies, we preserve peace in the region, and
we really further our own security.
Israel is an outpost of democracy and freedom in a troubled
region that shares our values and faces many of the same
dangers we face, and has faced those dangers since 1948 when it
became a nation.
Our close defense cooperation has created numerous game
changing technologies that have been used to not only defend
Israel, but strengthen our military aides as well.
For decades, it has been our policy to ensure Israel is
dominant on the battlefield. If it wasn't, we would have to
send U.S. military to protect it. Israeli friends have always
made it clear they don't want Americans to fight their battles
for them, they just need tools to defend themselves.
Through this bill, we will continue to improve the
tradition of strongly supporting Israel. H.R. 5141 will
enshrine another decade of foreign military financing to the
Jewish state, streamline the transfer of military materials so
Israel can utilize American when we need it most.
I might add that much of the money that we send to Israel
is spent here in the United States for military development.
This bill also will increase our cooperation with Israel on
combating cyber and drone threats, expanding space exploration,
provide foreign assistance in areas where we share common
goals. So our relationship with Israel continues to be
beneficial to both nations.
This bill will ensure the U.S.-Israeli alliance continues
far into the future, that Israel has the capability to defend
itself against any foe, and put other nations on notice that
the United States totally supports our friend and ally, Israel.
And I will yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Poe.
Mr. Brad Schneider of Illinois.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you, Chairman Royce. And I am in
another committee where we may have a vote. If I have to leave,
I apologize, mid sentence.
But I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for
convening today's markup and for their leadership in this
committee. I am pleased to support all of the bills in today's
en bloc package, which includes some legislation I have
introduced.
Every week, we seem to learn more about the sophisticated
network of social media bots and online ads used to spread
misinformation during the 2016 election. And our intelligence
chiefs are unanimous that Russia views the 2018 elections as a
target for further interference. The State Department's Global
Engagement Center, GEC, was created in 2016 to lead the United
States' effort to counter propaganda and disinformation from
foreign actors. Alarmingly, The New York Times reported in
March of this year that the State Department didn't spend any
of the $120 million available since late 2016 to counter
Russian information warfare efforts, nor did it recruit a
single analyst in the GEC who speaks Russian.
This is not a partisan issue. It is of great importance to
anyone who has an interest in protecting our democracy. The
actions of our State Department need to reflect that urgency.
The Global Engagement Center Authorities Act of 2018 would
strengthen the current statute that initially authorized the
GEC and will better equip the office to carry out its important
mission. The bill also strengthens the Foreign Affairs
Committee's oversight of the GEC by requiring notification of
funding transfers and annual briefings from the State
Department on the Center's activities. The Global Engagement
Center is an important tool in our efforts to counter foreign
misinformation campaigns and propaganda.
I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Ted Lieu and
Representative Adam Kinzinger, for their previous work in
support of this legislation, and the chairman and ranking
member for including this bill today. I hope we can work
together to make the GEC an even more effective resource.
I am also pleased to support the U.S.-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act, which enhances Israel's ability
to defend herself against mounting regional threats. As
Hezbollah and Hamas continue to grow their weapons arsenals and
Iran becomes even more entrenched in Syria, the United States
must ensure that her greatest ally in the Middle East has the
ability to defend herself against these challenges.
Last year, I introduced the Defending Israel's QME Act to
strengthen the process that ensures Israel's qualitative
military edge over other countries in the Middle East. I am
pleased that a portion of my bill has been included in the
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act so
that we can continue to ensure Israel has the tools to maintain
its QME over those who seek to do her harm.
Thank you, again, to the chairman and ranking member for
convening today's markup and for your support of my
legislation.
With that, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Brad.
We go now to Mr. Tom Garrett of Virginia.
Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I want to thank specifically, before he leaves, my
colleague, Mr. Schneider, for helping me help work on his fine
piece of legislation, 5681. I want to speak briefly, Mr.
Chairman, to the nature of propaganda and inference in our
Nation. It has been my honor as a member of this committee to
have engagement with a number of leaders from around the world,
but most specifically, in this instance with the leaders from
the Baltic Nations, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, who could
each tell horror stories about Russian interference.
And I want to speak candidly to the bipartisan nature of
Mr. Schneider, Mr. Kinzinger, and Mr. Lieu's work here. There
is absolutely no doubt that there was inference in American
elections in the last election cycle and that there will
probably be so in the future. Having said that, I want to speak
to the nature of that inference as I understand the
understanding of Nations who have been subject to this sort of
inference for far longer than we. And that is not so much to
target one particular party or individual, but instead, to sow
chaos, discord, and undermine the confidence and functioning
liberal democracies, which is, indeed, inherently dangerous in
and of itself, but a correction, I think, of the record of some
and not my colleague, whose fine legislative effort this is.
And so, I think those words need to be spoken. And I would
commend Mr. Schneider again, as well as Mr. Kinzinger and Lieu
on this legislation, as well as the chair and ranking member
for bringing it forward. We need to address this because we
have something special here that is worth striving to maintain
and, in fact, modeling for the remainder of the world. Which
brings me to the BUILD Act, Mr. Chairman, H.R. 5141.
Israel is not perfect, nor is the United States. However,
we do have commonalities of interest and values. Functioning
democracies wherein people, regardless of their ethnic
background or religious background who choose to participate
without violence and intend to harm others are tragically rare,
unfortunately, even in 2018.
And so where we can undergird those who share our values
and, indeed, in the case of Israel, who lack a mirror-like
entity for thousands of miles in any direction, where we can
undergird those who help to undergird the other reasonable
moderate regimes in the region, for example, Jordan, who relies
largely on the existence of Israel to perpetuate their own
nation state; where we can undergird those values that help to
spread opportunity to peoples across world, even where they are
enforced and implemented by imperfect people such as ourselves,
we should do so. Which brings me ironically, finally, to my
commentary on H.R. 5105.
The BUILD Act creates a circumstance wherein individuals
are lifted up. I hear, oftentimes, from people who don't
understand sort of my political philosophical vent, that we
need to spend our money here at home. However, it is
innumerable the number of dollars saved by stewarding good
resources for use abroad.
And my colleague, Ms. Frankel, speaks passionately of
creating opportunities for women globally, and I could not
concur more. But let me take that a step further.
Where there is opportunity for women, there is a reduction
in radicalization. Where there is opportunity for women, there
is a growth in economic opportunity and empowerment across the
Nation. And where there is opportunity for women, there is a
growth of the class of people as opposed to the autocratic
ruling class that leads to the empowerment of nations who will,
with the proper shepherding, one day be the very constructive
trade partners to which many of my colleagues had made
reference.
So with that, in closing, I thank the chairman, the ranking
member, and my colleagues. It is indeed a delight to come into
this committee room, or any committee room in this day and age,
and find such broad bipartisan consensus on such important
issues, and that makes me feel good.
Thank you.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Garrett.
We go to Dina Titus of Nevada.
Ms. Titus. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you and the
ranking member and the sponsors of this legislation. I am a
cosponsor of several of the bills before us, and I support all
of the ones that we are going to be voting on today.
I would just like to say for the record that I hope that
the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources that is
authorized by H.R. 5535 will keep in mind the impacts of
climate change as he or she pursues U.S. energy security
interests abroad.
As I look at the specific responsibilities laid out for
this office with respect to international energy policy and
security, I see several that stand out where this consideration
would be very important, supporting the development of energy
resources for the benefit of the U.S., our allies, and trading
partners, promoting the availability of diversified energy
supplies, supporting the economic and commercial interest of
Americans operating in energy markets of foreign countries, and
certainly, coordinating energy security currently undertaken by
other bureaus and offices in the State Department.
So with that admonition to the person occupying this
position, I would say I support the bill and yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen [presiding]. Thank you very much.
And now we go to Mr. Meadows of North Carolina.
Mr. Meadows. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I want to thank
you for your leadership, not only on this particular measure,
but on a number of measures as it relates to our most trusted
ally in the Middle East, the nation of Israel. And certainly,
as we look at the Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act,
it is an essential step in continuing our commitment to our
ally Israel. My amendment actually makes the policy of the
United States even further expanded by ensuring that a long-
standing partnership extends best practices between law
enforcement personnel in each of our Nations as they undertake
the increasingly complex antiterrorism missions. Inclusion of
Israel into our network of international law enforcement
academies will help Israel and the United States collaborate
together to confront terrorists organizations, and certainly,
international drug trafficking groups.
Further, my amendment supports Secretary Pompeo's efforts
in the Middle East through the international narcotics control
and law enforcement program. So I appreciate the hard work of
the committee members and the staff on this legislation, and I
would strongly urge not only support of this amendment, but the
underlying bill.
And I thank the chairwoman for her leadership, and I yield
back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Meadows.
And now we go to Mr. Keating of Massachusetts.
Mr. Keating. I would like to thank the chair. I would like
to thank the ranking member for holding this markup and their
work on all the bills that are in front of us. I would also
like to congratulate Representatives Ted Yoho and Adam Smith
for their work on the BUILD Act, which I am a cosponsor of, and
has been addressed many times in terms of its merits earlier
today.
I would like to thank the chairman and his staff, in
particular, for working with me to include my amendments in the
en bloc this morning. They do more than just reflect our
country's values. But they help guarantee success. My
amendments focus on accountability and risk management making
sure that those at the heart of any development work. That the
people, the workers, their communities are the major focus of
the corporation's work. Development efforts fail when there is
insufficient attention to workers' rights, environment
protection, or human rights. That is because developmental work
and the economic growth that it is meant to create is
sustainable only when there is someone there to sustain it.
If you don't protect and invest in local populations and
their communities through development and economic growth,
those ends, those goals, won't succeed, and that will disappear
the second that those main tenets and values disappear. One of
my amendments requires that, as the corporation works to manage
risk, that must include environmental and social risks. If our
goal is to achieve effective sustainable development, we can't
afford environmental and social harms any more than we can
afford financial costs.
Poisoning the water supply of a town is going to sideline
any contributions people can make to furthering their own
community's economic growth. Workers' rights, environmental
protections, social issues are just as important as any
financial metrics to the bottom line of these investments. It
is, therefore, important that they are part of the
corporation's reviews that are submitted to Congress every
year. Another one of my amendments offered and included in the
en bloc today does just that.
Finally, accountability is an important piece of any
successful endeavor, especially in development. OPIC created an
independent accountability mechanism in 2004 that served to
promote and defend high standards of labor, human rights, and
environmental protection, among other key issues. By providing
a forum for addressing complaints, and by monitoring compliance
with and offering guidance on those standards, an
accountability mechanism helps to make these development
programs as effective as possible. My amendment ensures this
accountability mechanism continues on in serving the
corporation's mission.
So in conclusion, I would like to thank all the people that
worked so hard on the bills and support, and give my support to
all the bills in front of us today. I think it is an example of
the strong bipartisan effort that this committee shows time and
time again.
I yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Donovan of
New York.
Mr. Donovan. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Effectively countering propaganda is one of our first lines
of defense against terrorism. Today, it only takes a simple
click to upload viral videos and social media posts that
highlight extremist views, recruit terrorists, or instruct
followers on how to carry out an attack.
Jihadist terrorists are increasingly using this viral and
fashionable format to spread their methods for mayhem across
the internet to Western audiences. Al Qaeda employed Samir
Khan, a Pakistani American to launch its first Web magazine,
Inspire, in 2010. ``Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom''
was the featured article with the byline of ``the AQ Chef.''
The piece, which was written and published in English, was
eventually used to manufacture the bombs at the Boston
Marathon. This one example makes clear that Jihadi terrorist
propaganda cannot be ignored, and that the United States must
enhance its ability to counter it.
The purpose of the Global Engagement Center housed within
the State Department is to counter Jihadi and State-sponsored
terrorist propaganda. That is why I support H.R. 5681, the
Global Engagement Center Authorities Act of 2018.
I also strongly support H.R. 5141, the United States-Israel
Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018. The purpose of
this bill is to ensure that Israel has the ability to defend
itself through increased security assistance. And Israel's very
existence is under daily threat from a multitude of enemies,
but none so persistently dangerous and devious as Iran.
Under the Obama administration, our Nation placated Iran
and emboldened the regime's bad behavior. The previous
administration believed that the $120 billion given to Iran
under the flawed Iran nuclear deal would be used to help
address domestic needs in a floundering economy. They were
sadly mistaken. President Obama's weak stance on Iran not only
impacted U.S. and Israel national security efforts, but it also
hurt the Iranian people.
Here is the reality of how the Iranian regime, a known
state sponsor of terror, spent its billions in aid. According
to a senior Iranian cleric cited in a 2014 Washington Post
article, Iran provided over $1 billion in military aid alone to
Iraq. Iran funds Assad, who has brutally decimated his own
people via chemical weapons and barrel bombs. The U.N. special
envoy for Syria estimated in July 2015 that Iran gives Assad
anywhere between $6 billion and $35 billion a year. Israel
Government Minister has also told the Times of Israel that
Iran's expenditures on Hezbollah alone totaled $1 billion per
year. That is merely the beginning of what has been reported in
various news outlets.
So what do Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon hold in common for
Iran? They shared global locations that could strategically
allow Iran a clear direct path to Israel. It is no secret that
Iran wants nothing more than to destroy Israel. Iran's attempt
to build a land bridge from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon to Israel
represents a dangerous turbulent development that the U.S. must
counter to defend our staunch ally, Israel. As demonstrated by
the United States Security Assistance Authorization Act,
America's commitment to Israel is absolute and unwavering.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my
time
Chairman Royce. Thank you.
We go now to Norma Torres of California.
Mrs. Torres. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you,
the ranking member, the majority and minority staffs for their
hard work on all the bipartisan bills that we are considering
here today. In particular, I am pleased that we are advancing
the Israel Security Assistance Act thanks to the great work of
our chair, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Ranking Member Ted Deutch.
This bill will keep our security cooperation with Israel strong
for many years to come.
As Israel faces growing threats from Iran and its many
proxies, we must continue to stand with our ally. I am so proud
to cosponsor this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to
support it. I am also glad that we are marking up the BUILD
Act, which will ensure that the United States continues to be a
leader in a field of development finance. And I applaud
Chairman Yoho for his initiative, and I thank him for accepting
my amendment to the bill.
My amendment would ensure that the new development finance
institution is careful to avoid doing business with bad actors,
such as terrorists, drug dealers, or corrupt government
officials.
Last month, when this committee held a hearing on the
administration's development finance proposal, I voiced my
concerns with a specific OPIC-supported project in Guatemala.
Since then, Mr. Chairman, I want to report to you that OPIC has
answered many questions from my office on this case, and I
appreciate their transparency. And I am reassured that there
are many people working there who are committed to doing due
diligence.
As many of you know, corruption is a very serious issue in
Guatemala. In recent years, though, we have seen some real
progress. The International Commission Against Impunity in
Guatemala, CICIG, has been working with local police and
prosecutors to uncover networks of corruption and to bring
about important reforms.
Congress has supported CICIG on a bipartisan basis. Many
members of this committee have supported CICIG. And we have
seen some very positive results. Violent crime, for example, is
down. The people of Guatemala had seen that no one is above the
law. The Guatemalan people fight against corruption, has given
the young people of that country great hope. And we must build
on this progress. We cannot and must not allow it to be turned
back. The cost of giving up now is simply too high, and we must
be vigilant about who we are doing business with in Guatemala,
or any other country around the world where corruption is a
major problem.
So I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I
support all of the measures that are before us today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Torres.
Hearing no further requests--oh, Mr. Ted Lieu.
Mr. Lieu. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to, first of all, thank the chairman and ranking
member for having this hearing, and pleased that we are moving
forward six pieces of strong legislation to improve our
national security. I would like to talk about two of these
bills. The first is H.R. 5433, the Hack Your State Department
Act. I would like to thank the chairman for calling this bill
up, and to also thank my colleague, Ted Yoho of Florida. We are
co-leading this piece of legislation.
Over the years, the State Department has faced mounting
cybersecurity threats from both criminal enterprises and state-
sponsored hackers. As an agency with a critical national
security role, we must do more to protect its cybersecurity.
As a computer science major, I recognize there are proven
tools at our disposal to improve cybersecurity that the
Department has yet to adopt. One such tool is to enlist the
help of America's top security researchers to find weaknesses
in our cybersecurity.
The first step of this bill is to establish what is called
a vulnerability process, which sets clear rules of the road so
that when people outside the Department discover
vulnerabilities on systems, they can report it in a safe,
secure, and legal manner with the confidence that the
Department will actually fix the problems.
The second step is to actually pay vetted white hat hackers
to find vulnerabilities. The Department of Defense proved the
success of the bug bounty program back in 2016.
Over a 24-day period, the Pentagon learned of and fixed
over 138 vulnerabilities in its systems. The 2017 report to the
President on Federal IT modernization stated agencies must take
a later approach to penetration testing. At a bare minimum,
agencies should establish vulnerability disclosure policies.
Agencies should also identify systems that are appropriate to
place under public bug bounty programs such as those run by the
Department of Defense or GSA.
And today with this legislation, our committee is taking
these recommendations to heart in helping to improve the State
Department with respect to cybersecurity.
The second bill I would like to talk about is the Global
Engagement Center bill. Two years ago, I worked with
Congressman Adam Kinzinger on legislation to task the State
Department with leading efforts to counter disinformation and
propaganda around the world. The Global Engagement Center was
established to lead a whole of government response.
I am grateful now to be partnering with Representative
Schneider to strengthen the Global Engagement Center within the
Department of State, because it will serve as a vital tool to
counter foreign interference in our upcoming elections.
And also, finally I would like to talk about an amendment
that the chair and ranking member have included in this
package. It is an amendment to H.R. 5677, to strengthen the
reporting requirements under what is referred to as the Leahy
law, a landmark law that prohibits the U.S. Government from
providing assistance to foreign military units that are found
to have committed gross human rights violations.
My amendment today will narrow the exceptions to the public
reporting under Leahy law to meet its objectives. It asks the
State Department to disclose publicly the units of foreign
militaries that are banned from receiving U.S. assistance. This
information will also serve to unify our efforts with key
training allies in global hotspots, allies such as the U.K. and
France. Importantly, we will still provide exceptional
disclosure when doing so would reveal intelligent sources and
methods.
Thank you again, Mr. Chair. And with that, I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Colonel Ted Lieu.
Now, with no further requests for recognition, the question
occurs on the items considered en bloc.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the
measures considered en bloc are agreed to. Without objection,
the measures considered en bloc are ordered favorably reported
as amended. Staff is directed to make any technical and
conforming changes, and the chair is authorized to seek House
consideration under suspension of the rules. And so that
concludes our business for today. I thank the members and our
ranking member for their contribution and assistance with this
markup today.
The committee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:34 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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