on c-span. call up the

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. for what purpose does the entleman from new york seek recognition? mr. nationaller: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the and passpend the rules 4803. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. 4803, a bill to facilitate the automatic acquisition of citizenship for permanent resident

children of military and federal government personnel residing purposes.d for other the speaker pro tempore: the ant to the rule, gentleman from new york, is recognized for 20 minutes. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and .xtend their remarks the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. nadler: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may proceed. mr. nadler: i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 4803, the r. citizenship for children of military members and civil servants act. bipartisan legislation provides a simple solution to ease the burdens imposed by our laws on itizenship those who have chosen to serve ur nation abroad and their children. most children born outside the united states are deemed u.s. birth.s at but under our current itizenship laws, this process can be more complicated for children whose parents don't meet certain bureaucratic related to residency, where one physically

resides. his often affects military families and certain other federal employees serving abroad. result, when establishing u.s. residency is not possible parents' overseas our nation, these people are at a disadvantage. streamline ss to a citizenship process, parents must guide their children hrough a lengthy and naturalization process or find some alternative way to establish u.s. residency which them to cut ire short their overseas service commitment to the armed services. members on both sides of the aisle were taken aback by the dministration's reversal of a 15-year-old policy that allowed families of military service members and federal government to meet the residency requirements for acquisition of citizenship purposes while abroad. h.r. 4803 will implement the mall but important fix to our citizenship laws by restoring and codifying the previous

consistency inging to our once differing policy provisions between the department of homeland security department of state. .r. 4803 will provide greater flexibility to individuals who have dedicated their lives and careers to serving our nation by like ng their children other children of u.s. citizens who are born overseas, allowing hem to be automatically recognized as u.s. citizens once certain -- once the certain conditions are met. delays ofwill end the the naturalization process as uch children are required to undergo under current law and allow their parents continue serving our nation in the military without interruption. want to thank my friend and colleague, mr. collins of georgia, for partnering with me on this commonsense bipartisan as well as chairman smith, ranking member thornberry, lofgren, ee chair subcommittee ranking member buck along with mr. gallego and mr. lieu. i appreciate their willingness to work across the aisle and demonstrate that it's possible ground on some

immigration and nationality issues. i urge my colleagues to support bipartisan legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of this bill. most people believe that in all as long as one parent is a u.s. citizen a child is automatically a u.s. citizen. in reality, the immigration and lays out what procedures a child must go claim it. mr. cline: a child of a u.s. citizen automatically becomes a citizen if the child is under the age of 18 and is iniding in the united states a legal and physical custody of the citizen pursuant to a lawful for permanent

residence. his creates a problem for some who are serving overseas in the military or other u.s. government positions and who return to the united states. until very recently, u.s. itizenship and immigration services, uscis, had been interpreting the term residing u.s. cover children of citizen government employees or members of the u.s. armed forces employed or stationed outside the u.s. that interpretation, however, with other tent parts of the i.n.a. and inconsistent even with the state interpretation. thus, there were instances when told citizen parent was by uscis that their child was automatically a u.s. citizen, parent tried to obtain a u.s. passport for the child, they were told the child not yet a u.s. citizen because the proper process had followed. in late august, uscis issued aimed correctly

interpreting residing in to be consistent with the i.n.a. and state department's interpretation. it should be noted that even if 4803 is enacted, the hildren affected by uscis' new guidance will be able to claim u.s. citizenship. however, their families have to ump through many more hoops to do so. luckily, this issue affects fewer than 100 families per year. are cases of adoption or where the child is a parent when the naturalizes. uscis was legally correct to do in congress but we is also right to make the the ical change to have affected child to automatically be considered a u.s. citizen. the u.s. ranking member worked chairman nadler to craft h.r. 4803. the u.s. parent circumstances where one, the u.s. citizen parent is an

of the u.s. government stationed abroad or, two, the is a member parent of the armed forces stationed abroad or spouse of that member residing abroad with that member the child is authorized to and is accompanying the member. children nsures that of u.s. armed forces members and u.s. government personnel are merely becauseed their parents' service to our country requires them to be abroad. i'm pleased that the legislative process worked as it should, hat republicans and democrats saw a legal issue that needed to be fixed and we worked together the affecting legislation. i urge my colleagues to support the bill, and i reserve the time.e of my mr. faleomavaega: the gentleman from -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: does the gentleman have -- neither do i. o do you -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields. virginia is from recognized. to close. m cline: thank you.

i ask my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back the time.ce of my the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. this bipartisan legislation provide greater flexibility and support to those who have dedicated their careers serving our nation when they have children born abroad. i, again, thank my colleagues bipartisan nature -- of the working and support of this bill. i urge all my colleagues to bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. he question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the 4803, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i suspend the rules and act.h.r. 565, the amigos the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman wish to call up amended?as mr. cicilline: yes. thank aker pro tempore: you. and the clerk will report title of the bill. he clerk: h.r. 565, a bill to include portugal in the list of foreign states whose nationals for admission into

the united states as e-1 and e-2 nonimmigrants if united states nationals are treated similarly portugal.ernment of the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from rhode island, mr. and the gentleman from virginia, mr. cline, each minutes.rol 20 the chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. that allnimous consent members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include on the bill terial under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may proceed. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, the amigos act is a bipartisan bill introduced along with my have gue, mr. costa, to greater investment and trade with portugal. .r. 565 makes portuguese nationals to be eligible for e-1 visas if the portugal does the same for united states

nationals. allow investors to support projects in the united states which will benefit our economy as well as that of portugal. as one of the first countries to recognize the united states after the revolutionary war, of our closest partners and strongest allies. united states maintains that long standing relationship as the fifth argest export market for portugal and the largest trading partner outside of the european union. i am proud to represent the first district of rhode island, ome to one of the largest and vibrant portuguese community, a community that's made arts, utions in the business for many decades. saw a 30% o 2015 we increase in trade between the united states and portugal. that the the year united states became portugal's largest trading partner outside union with between goods and services continues to grow 8% increase.ase --

130 are currently over american companies operating in portugal in a wide range of conomic sectors including pharmaceutical, technology, banking, health sectors. 2018, the united states portugal estment in was $2.8 billion, an increase in 2017.om from was a 3.5% decrease 2017 to 2018 from portugal to the united states. the countries in the european union had bipartisan investor treaties with the states before and during the e.u., portugal did not and e.u. of the five countries whose citizens are not e-1 and e-2 visas. a treaty that portugal cannot the power toss has have e-1 and e-2 benefits to other countries and we have to do so our authority

for both israel in 2012 and new ealand just last year, and i'm pleased to lead the effort to do portugal.for for the one of the most important factors in encouraging investments in the united states the availability of business-related visas like e-1 and e-2 visas. allowing portuguese access trade eep the united states and ortugal, investing in capital to be eligible for visas will help strengthen u.s. and portugal ties and promote an portugal's investment in the united states. extending visas to portugal not portuguese businesses an opportunity to invest in the united states but it's a beneficial opportunity for both growth in the united states businesses and in our economy. this effort toad support our ally and friend, portugal. i want to thank chairman nadler support of this legislation and for bringing this bill to the floor today. i encourage all of my colleagues

h.r. 565, the amigos, act, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. cline: thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the gentleman said, currently the nationals of for untries are eligible e-1 or-2 -- or e-2 status. about 84,000 visas from issued in 2018. became eligible through treaties. however, the judiciary committee reached an understanding with trade representative that no provisions wering to ncluded in future trade agreements, henceforth legislation would be required to add countries. this bill would make portuguese eligible for visas and with that i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from roiled is recognized -- rhode island is recognized. mr. cicilline: i'm prepared to close. mr. cline: mr. speaker, with

that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back. the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. mr. cicilline: briefly, mr. speaker, i again urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which will strengthen the really important and historical relationship between the united states and portugal, which will help to promote economic growth in both of our countries, lead to the creation of good-paying jobs, and really strengthen the long and important economic relationship between our two great countries. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 565, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4018, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4018, a bill to provide that the amount of time that an elderly offender must serve before being eligible for placement in home detention is to be reduced by the amount of good time credits earned by the prisoner and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. deutch, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. cline, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from florida. mr. deutch: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex train twrouse -- include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. deutch: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, this bill is a modest but important bill that i introduced with ranking member collins to address an inadvertent drafting error in the second chance act. one that has prevented elderly offenders who qualify for early release under a pilot program for compassionate release from receiving credit for the good conduct time they have accrued while in custody. our nation's federal prison population is rapidly aging. of the 1.5 million adults currently in state and federal prisons, there has been a 300% spike in the elderly population since 1999. by 2050 it is estimated that 1/3 of the prison population in the united states will be over age 50. today more people die of old age in u.s. prisons than ever

before, and from 2001 to 2007 alone, nearly 8,500 people over age 55 died behind bars. the federal prisoner re-entry initiative, a pilot program created under the second chance act, allows offenders who are elderly and who have served at least 2/3 of their sentence to petition for release from prison, and to serve their remaining term of imprisonment in a halfway house. this program is not only humane, it is fiscally responsible. the increasing number of elderly prisoners is leading to soaring costs for the bureau of prisons, with more elderly prisoner population -- with the more elderly prisoner population, prison infrastructure must outfitted or equipped to accommodate the unique needs of elderly prisoners. prisoners need to be outfitted with ramps, lower bed heights, bunk beds eliminated, hand rails in showers and other structural changes. also, prison staff need to be trained to work with elderly prisoners and move elderly prisoners around the

facilities. we imprison too many elderly inmates unnecessarily for far too long. and the data reveals that the recidivism rate is reduced dramatically as the population ages. good conduct time is provided to all prisoners who have satisfactory behavior in the bureau of prisons. a prisoner can earn 54 days of good conduct time or days off their sentence per year. however, due to an inadvertent error in the federal prisoner re-entry initiative, elderly inmates are not permitted to receive credit for good conduct. elderly inmates who otherwise have satisfactory behavior should not lose the good conduct time they have earned solely as a result of this drafting error. such an unjust result was not the intent of congress when drafting the second chance act, as the intent behind this compassionate program is to release a vulnerable population from missen when they present little risk to their communities. h.r. 4018 would correct tch problem and therefore i urge my -- correct this problem and therefore i urge my colleagues in supporting this important bill. i reserve the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia recognized. mr. cline: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise in support ver h.r. 4018, the ellederly offender good conduct time regulation. attorney general bar has repeatedly stated -- barr has repeatedly stated his intent to implement the provisions of the act. our job as legislators in this space is two-fold. first, to conduct oversight to ensure the first step act is responsibly implemented and, two, to address issues in that implementation. one such technical issue is addressed by h.r. 4018. this bill would allow the bureau of prisons to transfer eligible elderly nonviolent offenders from b.o.p. facilities into home confinement when they have reached 60 years of age and served 2/3 of the term of imprisonment to which they were sentenced. this is a bill technical in

nature, designed to correct a flaw in the first step act, that will promote fairness in the implementation of good conduct time. as reformed in the fist step act, and ensure our prisons do not become nursing homes. i believe that if we do not ensure this act works, we will lose credibility with the american people and any future efforts to reform our criminal justice system will fail. i support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same and with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. deutch: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers and i am prepared to close if the gentleman is ready. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. cline: with that, mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman for his support of this fine legislation, and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back. the gentleman from florida is recognized. -- is recognized to close. mr. deutch: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank mr. cline, mr. jeffries and mr. collins for their leadership on this effort. mr. speaker, the process for

earning time off for good conduct in prison is important as a matter of fairness and also effective prison administration. individuals who earn good conduct time should not lose credit for this time because of an error in a statute and elderly nonviolent offenders should receive credit for the time they have earned. therefore h.r. 4018 is required to address an unfortunate and inadvertent error. i'm glad it will and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this good bipartisan bill. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 4018, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires,

seek recognition? mr. sires: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 517. supporting the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, malaria and its sixth replenishment, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will -- mr. sires: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman will suspend. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 517. resolution supporting the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, malaria and its sixth replenishment. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative

days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 517. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sires: i yield myself -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: mr. sires: there is no better example of american interests and values intersecting in our foreign policy than global health issues. on one hand, global health issues are challenges. there is access to health care less productive, less able to ct as a strong partners. unchecked, epidemics can make their own shores threatening our american people. we have interests to tackle global health problems. at the same time, we, as americans want to see people

everywhere lead healthy lives and access to health care allows more people to pursue great opportunity. that's why over the last two decades, the global fund has been a remarkable foreign policy initiative and helped reduce half the number of deaths through to aids. from 2000-2016, it contributed to on 37% decline in t.b. deaths nd since the year 2017, it has reduced malaria by 60%. america's contribution to the global fund will help to fund these vital programs and our leadership helped drive billions from other donors and recipient states. in october, the global fund received pledges of more than $14 billion for the next three

years from 75 donors, 60 million people will benefit from this lifesaving assistance. this is work we should all be proud of and has granted interest around the world and shown the character of our country and spirit of generosity and compassion. it is essential that the global fund work will continue. i'm proud to support this initiative from representatives engel and mccaul. we are reaffirming our support for the global fund reiterating how important its work is. the house already approved for next year to go forward because the fund's success depends on american involvement. the global fund has built a tremendous record of success and we need to keep that record

going so we can help people around the world to prevent disease. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, is recognized. mr. smith: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of h.res. 517, a resolution by chairman engel and ranking member mccaul supporting the global fund to fight aids, t.b. and malaria. it is a financial partnership that have a shared purpose of ending hiv-aids, t.b. and malaria. since its founding in 2002, the global fund is credited with saving millions of lives. nor is our contribution to combat these diseases to contribute to the global fund. the global fund has worked with u.s. programs such as the

president's emergency plan for aids relief or pepfar, which has radically and positively changed the course. president bush initiated the pepfar program which has been transformative in so many countries like subsaharan africa. over 18 million lives have been saved due to pepfar's intervention and mother to child transmission of aids during pregnancy. mr. speaker, over 2.6 million babies born of hiv-aids-infected mothers have been born h.i.v. free. we should note the lasting reforms and chiropractics of mark stibeell he was the coordinator from 2006-twin

implementing pepfar. he went on to serve as the executive director of the global fund instituting reforms as we stand here today recognizing the critical role that the global fund is playing in hiv-aids. mark instituted on the key role that faith-based organizations play in the fight against the spread of h.i.v. africa in particular is a faith-based in the event and to ignore churches would be to ignore the grassroots institution in the lives of the people on the continent. he spear reded risk-avoidance strategy and keeping adolescent girls in school which has proven critical and reducing the transmission of aids. mr. speaker, the american people allocate $6 billion a year to

the president's emergency plan for pepfar which congress extended for another five years. the legislation that i authored with democrat barbara lee, the president signed into law on december 11 of last year. along with those funds, we to ated usaid account combat the diseases and make our global leadership unparalleled in the entire world. and it's not simply providing funds. it's the leadership and commitment to excellence demonstrated by people through our global aids coordinator and her team which makes our commitment so impactful. to sustain its progress, the global fund needs at least $14 billion over the next three years. to help the fund reach its goal, the u.s. commitment would need to be $1.56 million.

and the global fund held its replenishment meeting where pledge amounts were submitted. the united states government pledged $1.56 billion with other donors coming to the table to help the fund raise that critical needed money. i reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, reserves. and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sir ress is recognized. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. lee: i thank the gentleman for your leadership and chairman engel. for your commitment as well as mr. smith. on this issue and so many issues. i rise in strong support of h.res. 517. this resolution reaffirms commitment to ending aids and calls on our government to

maintain its historic contribution to the global fund. as one of the original authors of the global fund and as co-chair of the hiv-aids caucus, i am pleased we are moving this bill forward. this legislation has one of the greatest impacts on lives of people around the world. since 2002, the global fund and pepfar has saved 32 million lives. can you believe that? once more, the global fund has cut the number of aids-related deaths in half and keeping deaths at 37%. our country's strong support of this program which has been bipartisan coupled with new scientific advances has helped us turn the tide. this year during the sixth reflen michiganment fund conference, it maintained of $1.56 billion. i'm glad that we are here to

reaffirm our commitment to the global fund and the bipartisanship and multi lateral commitment to this program cannot be understated. timely, mr. chairman, i want to lift up the legacy, a great congressman who inspired my legislation to frame the legislation. and i thank congressman jim leach for his spirit of bipartisanship to help me getting ut through the banking committee and president clinton who signed the relief act in 2000 and established the fund served as and and who chairman of the united nationses and led the i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this resolution, yes to saving lives. i thank everyone for being here. today was world aids day and we led a delegation to the united

nations and everyone applauded the united states for its leadership. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield to mr. cole -- mr. mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i want to thank the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, and mr. sires and mr. engel for their hard work. the global fund to fight aids, t.b. and malaria. 32 million lives have been saved as a result of the global fund partnering with the u.s. programs to change the course of health outcomes. and yet there is much more work to do. the global fund set a fundraising goal of $14 billion over the next three years in order to save 16 million lives. since 2003, the united states

has been a long and consistent partner of the global fund and the largest bilateral donor. the u.s. has provided one dollar for every two raised by other donors. our contributions have been an effective tool to leverage other donors and secure greater commitments. uncertainty over final spending bills has complicated. my friend and i introduced this resolution to reaffirm our commitment to the global fund and assure other donors of this commitment. in october, pledge amounts for the next three years were submitted and i am pleased this resolution played a role in affirming the u.s. commitment to the global health fund and helped spur more donors to step up in the fight against aids, t.b. and malaria. i ask my colleagues to support this resolution. and the resolution will provide

the $1.56 billion to the global fund. rarely, mr. speaker, in this chairman, do we pass laws and resolutions that have such a direct impact on the lives of others and that is the true calling of the true mission that i think we share on both sides of the aisle to make this world a better place and this resolution will certainly do that. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires, is recognized. mr. sires: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: a lot of factors have come together over nearly 20 years to account for the success

of the global fund. but in my view, the most crucial piece thft puzzle has been american leadership. i worry about what's happened to american leadership in recent years. i worry when an american administration sends a budget after budget, sends budget after budget asking us to slash our investments in diplomacy and development by a third. i worry about the message that sends to the rest of the world. the lives of which could be lost if we reduce our commitment to the fund. and what it could mean for all the success which efforts like the global fund, have achieved. so it's important today that the house send this message that we express our clear support for the global fund and our support for bringing american leadership to bear on global health challenges. i urge all members to support this measure. and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 517 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the resolution is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and ass h.r. 3460, the end fee neglected tropical diseases act. the clerk: h.r. 3460, a bill to facilitate treatment of tropical diseases through coordinated international efforts. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires, and the gentleman from

new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 3460. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. . . mr. sires: let me start by thanking mr. smith from new jersey for his hard work on this bill. which seeks to make progress on this pressing global health challenge. diseases category of that we call -- what we call neglected tropical diseases, that pack a particular nasty punch on populations live in poverty without adequate sanitation. these precisely -- these are

precisely the kinds of decisions that hold entire communities back. they drive up health costs, lead to lost wages, undercut productivity and deprive children of the shot at a better future. what's especially wrenching about thighs diseases is they cause -- about these disease is they call all this harm -- diseases is that they cause all this harm, despite the fact that we have the tools to fight them. research, drug distribution, basic public health intervention, yet these diseases affect more than a billion people around the world. according to the world health organization. to its credit, u.s. aid is already focusing on these decisions -- diseases. the agency's neglected tropical disease program has worked to distribute nearly $16 billion worth of donated medicines in more than 30 countries. it is a good start, but these efforts aren't yet equal to the

challenge. this legislation underscores the serious challenge posed by neglected tropical diseases and encourages usaid to expand its work to grapple with this problem. it also sets up a stronger diplomatic approach for dealing with these diseases by requiring the state department to push for broader action through the u.n. and the global fund and the g-20. in short, this measure pushes for a smart, broad-based effort for getting all these preventable diseases. i am pleased to support it and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. smith: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. sires for his strong support for this legislation, his leadership on neglected tropical diseases. i want to thank my other colleagues, mr. mccaul, and of course ms. bass, who is also -- who has also been a great supporter of this legislation.

mr. speaker, neglected tropical diseases or n.t.d.'s are a group of par setic and bacterial diseases, including worms, which blind, disfigure and sometimes kill victims from among the world's poorest people. trapping the most marginalized communities in cycles of poverty. there are numerous examples of them, including deng aye, leprosy. can you believe, mr. speaker, there are over 200,000 cases of leprosy in the world today. and there is an intervention, there are drugs that can treat, mitigate and even cure it. but sometimes people do not get access to them and that causes serious, serious problems. the worms, and i'll get that in a minute, are absolutely devastating as well, and they need to be addressed very aggressively. mr. speaker, approximately two billion people, almost 1/3 of the world's population, are at risk of contracting an n.t.d., and more than 1.4 billion people are currently afflicted

with one or more n.t.d.'s. over the years, mr. speaker, i have chaired numerous hearings on this, one in 2013, one in 2016, the global zika epidemic, and many others. always focusing on the fact that we need to do more. these are preventable, but they're certainly treatable. but if you don't get the drugs, if you don't get the intervention, that person is made and those who are like that person to suffer horrifically. i introduced the end neglected tropical diseases act in four separate congresses. 2014, 2015, 2017 and again this year. so i deeply appreciate chairman engel and ranking member mccaul's strong support for this legislation, and for the leadership for bringing it up today. n.t.d.'s have an enormous impact in terms of disease burden and the quality of life. it causes the loss of life to about 534,000 people.

the n.t.d.'s surpass both malaria and tuberculosis in causing greater loss of life, to disability and premature death. they cause disfigurement, disability, often leading to stigma.and societal people afflicted by n.t.d.'s are less productive than their healthy counterparts. they jeopardize the ability of people who attend work and school or to produce at full capacity. the social, economic and health burdens of n.t.d. -- n.t.d.'s fall primarily on low and middle income countries, where access to safe water, sanitation and health care is limited. at least 100 countries face two endemic n.t.d. burdens and 30 countries carry six or more endemic neglected tropical

diseases. as i said, they can be controlled, they can be prevented and even eliminated using low-cost and effective, especially when treated early. research and development and efforts are immediately needed for all n.t.d.'s, especially for those for which no treatment currently exists. recent data published by the w.h.o. confirmed that in 2018 more than a billion people were treated for at least one of the five neglected tropical diseases. not well understood, mr. speaker, is the fact that neglected tropical diseases are infecting large numbers of vulnerable people, especially children, in developed countries, including the united states. of course these include west nile virus, dengue fever and more recently, zika. an article published in the medical journal scrutinized this emerging threat and was called neglected tropical disease no longer someone

else's problem. the article references world renowned n.t.d. expert dr. peter hotez of baylor college of medicine, who twice testified at hearings that i chaired. i read his book, i've read it not once but twice. it is a wake-up call to what these horrible diseases do. but he estimates that more than half of the 20 million americans living in these -- extreme poverty are infected with at least one neglected tropical disease. that's right here in the united states of america. the end neglected tropical disease act supports the treatment, control and the elimination of n.t.d.'s, primarily by ensuring the usaid's n.t.d. program, effectively integrates treatment, control and elimination efforts with other developal issues, such as hiv-aids, malaria, water and sanitation and education. it also directs that the u.s. government advocate for increased efforts to address n.t.d.'s among international

institutions such as the u.n., world health organization, and the world bank. let's not forget that the most common -- 14 most common n.t.d.'s, of them, 80% are something aused by or round worms, rip worms and hook worms that afflict more than one billion people worldwide. including 600 million school-aged children and more than 300 million suffer from severe morbidity. another infection affecting at least 220 million people in developing countries, and the world health organization estimates that 90% of those individuals are in sub-saharan africa. the benefits of deworming are immediate and enduring. a rigorous randomized controlled trial has shown that school-based deworming treatment reduces absenteism by 25%.

school-based worming also benefits young siblings and other children who live nearby, but are too young to be treated, leading to large cognitive improvements equivalent to half a year of schooling. let me also point out to my colleagues that the treatment for worms is simple and cost effective. those treatment for hook worm, for example, in tanzania, costs about four cents per treatment. four cents. to knock this terrible disease out of the intestinal track. yet one deworming treatment is not enough. without sanitation and hygiene changes, people will get re-infected. what do we need to do and what this bill does is to integrate usaid deworming programs with our wash programs, water, sanitation and health. coupled with our nutrition interventions. let me just also make a point that needs to be underscored with exclamation points. very, very robust private -public partnership that usaid leads and the pharmaceutical

, my friend panies in the chair and my friend managing the bill on the democrat side know, because these companies hail from the great state of new jersey, while every u.s. dollar invested is leveraged with $26 billion in donated medicines -- $22 billion in donated medicines, which is extraordinary. i mean, the relationship there -- i don't know of any other health program where the pharmaceuticals have stepped up like this to say, we're not going to sell you these drugs, we're going to donate it. we've also helped train 6.5 million individuals in countries around the world helping to fight n.t.d.'s, build and strengthen health systems, so we are, i think, making a difference. we need to do more. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: it's my privilege to yield to the distinguished ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you mr. speaker,. i rise today in support of the end neglected tropical diseases act. this bill sponsored by my good friend, mr. smith of new jersey, i want to applaud you, commend you, sir, for your efforts as being a steadfast leader on this very important issue that's going to save lives. and has saved lives. the conscience of this body when it comes to this issue. n.t.d.'s represent a group of parasetic and bacterial diseases that currently afflict more than 1.4 billion people worldwide. and they can result in severe disabilities, such as blindness, compounding existing social and economic challenges in the areas where these

diseases thrive. to be clear, the united states has taken a leadership role in this fight against n.t.d.'s. as many of these diseases have approved treatments, usaid's n.t.d. program has supplied medicine to key impacted countries using an innovative public-private partnership, as congressman smith alluded to. since 2016, usaid's leveraged more than -- 2006, usaid's leveraged more than $22 billion in donated medicines to provide about 2.6 billion -- $2.6 billion in treatments. however, there's much more to be done. especially to build global, political support to fight n.t.d.'s. to that end, this bill directs our flagship global health program, pepfar, to find opportunities to integrate n.t.d. research and care into their existing efforts to fight hiv-aids where appropriate. to lessen the u.s. burden in this fight, this bill also encourages greater

participation in the research, treatment and care of n.t.d.'s from the global fund, the united nations, and the other g-20 partners. n.t.d.'s pose a significant threat to health outcomes and have a detrimental effect on developing economies. i'd like to again thank mr. smith for his great leadership on this issue and, once again, to pass something in this house that will save lives is truly one of the most, i think, gratifying experiences that we as members of congress have. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. smith: mr. speaker, we have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. sires: mr. speaker, let me again thank mr. smith for all his hard work on this bill. this legislation shows so clearly how we can use development and diplomacy in tandem to help meet serious global challenges. it's why diplomacy and development are so important in our foreign policies. there's no doubt that neglected tropical diseases are a major roadblock for impoverished communities around the world. there's also no doubt that we have the tools to combat them. if we can garner the resources and the political will to get the job done, that's what this bill aims to do. i urge all members to vote yes on this measure and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3460. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the able. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 546, disapproving the russian federation's inclusion in future group of seven sum myths until it respects the territorial integrity of its neighbors and adheres to the standards of democratic societies. the clerk: house resolution 546, resolution disapproving the russian federation's inclusion in future group of seven sum myths until it respects the territorial integrity of its

neighbors and adheres to the standards of democratic societies. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sir ress and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each control 20 minutes. mr. sires: i ask that members may have five legislative days to include extraneous materials on h.r. 546. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: i want to thank chairman engel, ranking member mccaul and members of the house foreign affairs committee for unanimous support for h.r. 546 during its markup and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. in 2014, russia was expeled from the group of eight as a direct result of aggressive actions in ukraine including the invasion of the crimea region.

the remaining seven nations that rush yea's inclusion would be conditioned on its respect of ukraine's territory. later in 2014, this international agreement was codified into u.s. law when the support -- when the support -- for the sovereignty and democracy and economic stability of ukraine act was signed into law by president obama. within this legislation introduced by my colleagues from kentucky, congressman rogers, saying that continued participation in the group of eight should be conditioned on russia and accepting and adhering to the norms and standards of flee democratic societies as generally practiced on very other member nation

the g-8. in the times since this legislation was signed into law, russia has not changed course. instead, it has increased its aggression in the ukraine and has undermined democracy in numerous nations. in response to russia's introduced dling, i the long bipartisan congressional sentiment by russia's action shall have consequences on the international stage. if we allow russia to participate in future g-7 sum myths without meeting the previous conditions, russia will act with impunity and united states will not stand firm in the face of russian aggression. it is my hope that the house of representatives can once again come together as we did in 2014 to condemn russia's actions in

ukraine. and future participation must hinge on respecting the territorial integrity of other nations. thank you, mr. speaker. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise in strong port of h.res. 546 and i thank mr. sires for authoring this important resolution that reiterates that russia should g-8. join ukraine has been embroiled intertower. russia has illegally crimea in the did you know bass region. russia has illegally regions of

georgia which constitutes 20% of georgia's territory. i visited and within a week after putin's invasion that it might go the rest of the way and i saw firsthand the i.d.p.'s, the refugees, the loss of life, people who are wounded and again in the bad old days of the soviet union are being replicated by putin. he has violated fundamental principles of international law and done it so with impunity and his refusal to respect the neighbors and denied the standards. these invasions and occupations and isplaced ukranians meddling and russia's of the united states and allies

have further demonstrated putin's complete disrespect for values and beliefs shared by other members of the group of seven. this ressdution condemns ukraine con and eastern firms support and admonishes putin's assault around the world. the legislation establishes that russia should continue to be suspended from the group of seven until he adheres to democratic society. i thank my good friend from new jersey for authoring this important legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. smith: the gentleman reserves.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sir -- sirs. r. sires: i reserve. mr. smith: it's my privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished the gentleman from from texas, the ranking member. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: i rise in strong support of h.res. 546 under president putin's leadership, russia has invaded parts of ukraine and georgia and assassinated political opponents at home and abroad and allowed assad and syria and maduro in venezuela and waged cyber warfare in disinformation campaigns against the united states and its allies and

submarine warfare. all these actions go against the fundamental premises of the group of seven. as i said many times over the years, mr. putin is not our friend. the united states and our allies cannot trust him to be a reliable partner as long as he continues to lead his country down a path of assassinations and oppression. s stated, russia should not be re-admitted to the group of ven until putin respects the principles. relinquishes his choke hold over crimea and creases his attacks over democratic institutions. maintaining the integrity of the group of seven is vital and russia should not bully its way back in. i would like to thank representative sires for his hard work on this resolution and

representative smith for championing this resolution today. under putin's leadership, the world has become more deadly and more dangerous and his family have lesser freedoms and greater poverty. we need to stand up to dictators like mr. putin and this is not a republican or democrat issue but an american issue standing up against mr. putin and the russian federation. and with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from -- the gentleman from texas yields. mr. smith: we have no requests for time and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i yield myself as much time as i may consume for closing. this is a good bipartisan

measure. and i thank my good friend from new jersey, congressman smith. time and time again, russia ignores the standards and norms of democratic societies and actively counter to american interests. if we do not stand firm against russian aggression and allow them to participate in future g-7 sum myths, we will be rewarding putin and damage our partnerships and alliances around the world. with this measure, congress makes it clear, we do not support russia's inclusion in the g-7 as he continues to attack us and democratic institutions around the world. i hope members join me in supporting its passage and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to

house resolution 46. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. sires: on that, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: i move the is house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 585, reaffirming support for the good friday agreement and other agreements to ensure lasting peace in northern ireland. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution.

the clerk: house resolution 585, resolution reaffirming support for the good friday agreement and other agreements to ensure lasting peace in northern ireland. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair will recognize the gentleman from new jersey. mr. sires: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.res. 585. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i first would like to ask unanimous consent to submit in the congressional record an exchange of letters between the chair of the foreign affairs committee and the chair of the committee on ways and means on h.r. 585. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. mr. sires: i want to start by thanking my colleagues mr. that and mr. king for reaffirms congress support for lasting peace in northern ireland. the gr friday agreement and the full fillment is to ensure those violence never return. i'm alarmed by the current situation by brexit which could reintroduce a hard border between the north and the republic. this is a dangerous prospect not only for the peace process but the economic stability for the island and for the rights of the border communities. with this bipartisan resolution, we send a clear signal to the united kingdom and european union, it is a priority for congress that any brexit deal must protect the good friday

agreement and all of its components. we must ensure that nothing compromises the peace, security and economic prosperity across ireland. i am proud to be a co-sponsor of this measure. and i urge all members to join me in supporting it. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.res. 585 which calls for protection of the good friday agreement and any brexit deal that may came to suzy on and i thank tom for this agreement. and oven known as the troubles. the signing of the good friday agreement 20 years ago was historic and difficult to achieve and framework for peace

and hope for reconciliation. it is most important provision, the agreement launched a series of challenging prot calls and the nationalist and unionist communities in northern ireland agreed to strive to a peaceful solution of differences. it was characterized by prisoner releases, british demilitarization of the north and systemic police reform. in terms of reliesing peace, in the 30 years between 1969 and 1998, 3,500 people were killed in political vial and fewer than 100 have lost their lives due to sectarian violence though results of the this sectarian killings attributable to dispute from paramilitary groups.

as you know, dating back to the role played by president clinton george mitchell in the good friday agreement. . . i am proud to be a co-sponsor. bipartisan s the interest. i myself, mr. speaker, have personally chaired 16 hearings and markups on legislation on human rights issues in northern ireland. of them with a special focus on police reform and the a public, ablish independent judicial inquiry state sponsor collusion those that were part of assassinations. i had a bill that suspended all with upport and exchanges

the then-british police force in ireland, setting standards for the officers that ere implemented and then enforced. president bush was then able to certify the human rights principles were part of police going forward, both in the successor, the police force of northern ireland. , like many in this chamber, have a strong personal interest in the subject of congressman resolution and also extremely worried about the hard ve implications of a brexit. this 1998 agreement has kept the island of ireland for over two decades by soft border between the two entities. brexit deal that results in a hard borer between -- border instigate another outbreak of violence. the fact that armed groups still exist

and could re-engage in killing, there be a sustained to achieve a brexit resolution. it's vital to the safety and any ity of ireland that potential brexit deal effectively address the irish issue and maintain all components of the good friday agreement. this as lution affirms the u.s. position on brexit and author.d its i reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the author of this important resolution, the mr. eman from new york, suozzi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. suozzi: thank you, mr. speaker. sires, for mr. allotting me this time. i rise in strong support of the 585,tisan house resolution which i introduced along with my republican colleague, peter king. reaffirms the united states support for the good friday agreement and other in order to ensure a

lasting peace in northern ireland. want to start by thanking chairman engel for his support of this bipartisan resolution nd for his decades' long commitment to bringing lasting peace to the island of ireland. i also want to thank, again, my long islander peter king, my lead republican co-sponsor of been esolution, which has a staunch advocate for the good friday agreement and the peace process for the length and his entire career in public service, over 30 years. i want to thank all of my both sides of the aisle on the house foreign affairs committee and from the congressional friends of ireland co-sponsored this resolution. particularly i want to thank my friend, peter -- bill keating, the chairman of the foreign europe.subcommittee on mr. speaker, the signing of the good friday agreement in 1998 achievement us that -- momentus achievement that marked the official end of troubles, a dark part in history that saw communities torn apart, thousands of people irelandnd the island of

literally divided by a hardboarder. hard border. hile the good friday agreement helped with the peace on the island, recent events created uncertainty and put the risk.ent at the collapse of the key power haring agreement in the early 2017 has created a roadblock and continued progress on several issues.t i think i was given five speaker.mr. mr. sires: the gentleman can have an extra two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. suozzi: the collapse of the in power sharing agreement early 2017 has created a progress to continue on several important issues. brexit feared a border.der -- hard next week, the people of the united kingdom will go to the crucial election to

determine the outcome of brexit. not good to interfere in an electoral process, it's we make our position clear on policies that we have a vested interest. his resolution reiterates the united states' full support for the implementation of the good friday agreement. to lso urges the parties continue their die logs in the that - dialogues in hopes the institutions can once again operate. as the united kingdom continues the brexit ugh process, all parties should ensure that the final outcome ors peace on -- supports peace on the island of ireland as well as the objectives and commitments of the good friday agreement. particular, this resolution expresses strong opposition to the reintroduction of a hard republic of n the ireland and northern ireland. return to a hard border, as congressman boyle repeatedly pointed out, could do immense must be avoided at all costs. all parties seem to agree that a border is unacceptable, and

i urge continued adherence to this position. finally, this resolution makes it clear that the united states pursue a ited kingdom bilater bilateral agreement in the brexit and this is contingent on the good friday agreement. of the house ways and means committee, which i would have jurisdiction over any ensure l, i promise to this resolution is strictly enforced. friend, richie neal, who serves as not only as chairman of the ways and means co-chair of t also the bipartisan congressional friends of ireland, feels exactly the same way. speaker, i also want to take a moment to thank my good friend, the constituent, marty his years of activism in support of the peace process. of this m and support resolution as it's made its way through the legislative process, has been extremely valuable. these difficult times, although often partisan and ivided government, it's

gratifying to see such overwhelming bipartisan support to ensure that brexit and other olitical challenges do not threaten the good friday agreement or the peace process. my great-grandfather, holmes, first mmigrated from ireland, county cork, little know did his son ut the lights on top of the empire state building. little did he know his great-grandson would be a member f the house of representatives and work to continue the united states' important role in preserving peace on the island ireland. i strongly urge the passage of his important bipartisan legislation and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. well.mith: i reserve as the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman connecticut, mr. courtney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized. mr. courtney: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise in strong support of mr. resolution, again, america's t it is in national interest to advocate or the good friday peace accords. the u.s. has equity in this agreement. the work of george mitchell back instrumental, as according to all parties involved, in terms of its success. ince then, congress has reaffirmed that involvement by appropriating funds for the northern ireland trust fund, hich, again, promotes reconciliation amongst the sectarian factions that still, are a part to an unfortunate degree, but nonetheless, it's been a great over the last 21 years. as an undergraduate student england in 1973, i visited belfast in those dark troubles, 30,000 british soldiers patrolling the taking place, gs over 3,000 casualties. brought ard to today, trade mission from connecticut

focus.erospace again, there is a calm, there is a functioning government and system and rule of law that, has transformed that island and particularly northern island's society and it's all about trying to protect that future with this resolution. saying, this end by is in accordance with the people of northern ireland. hen brexit was voted on, the people of northern ireland voted almost 56% to remain in the union because they wanted to make sure there was no risk of a hard border. the measure passed, including great britain's votes, ut only by an even smaller margin of 51%. so this resolution, again, is ot just a sentimental expression by people here in the u.s. it's totally in accordance what is the will and the best wishes of the people of northern ireland. sponsors on k the both sides of the aisle in terms of making sure this important the 20th success of

century that the u.s. was an instrumental part of will be protected. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. speaker, i mr. reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: we reserve as well. the speaker pro tempore: the reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. for nk the gentleman yielding. i thank my friend, mr. suozzi, for offering this resolution. particularly mr. suozzi for his leadership on this issue. members who have spoken, i am proud of my own irish heritage. it's a heritage that continues day.is my sister lives in ireland. their h her husband, children. those four children are part of first generation alive that with the able to live guarantee of some sort of peace on that island. we recognizet that

that it's not just as much as we have this familial connection, of us, to the people of ireland, this question is so much bigger than that. is really a question as to whether or not we're going to support a negotiated peace, an achievement, not just of the people of the u.k. island of ireland, but as an achievement of the american people as well because guarantor of that agreement. that, goes beyond however. what message does it send to the world, especially in those places that continue to conflicts, if ng in the name of a hasty decision brexit, we were to set aside this achievement that people of the world, not just the people of that island, not just the people of just the people of the u.s., but to the people of he world that peace can be

achieved through face-to-face negotiation? message that rful goes beyond the direct impact on its reversal would have the people of ireland. finally, as my friends have no one, nobody in the u.k. or in the u.k. government should that the united states would pursue and willingly sign agreement, a u.s. -u.k. agreement that does not respect the principles that good friday agreement implemented. we goingestion is, are to deal with this now? will we ensure as the people of protect want, that we this important peace? should.we i think the people of the world should. i ask my colleagues to support important resolution. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. smith: i reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. i yields: mr. speaker,

two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. boyle. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. boyle: thank you, mr. speaker. thank the to gentleman from new jersey. the good friday agreement was start of the creation of peace and reconciliation on the island of ireland. not the end. brokered by the united states, was one of our nation's great foreign policy the 20th ts of century. process ing peace requires our continued engagement, especially now as becomes a reality. we cannot, and let's be clear, not stand by idly and atch the good friday agreement weakened or destroyed. i was proud to introduce a back in esolution i am equally proud

to co-sponsor mr. suozzi's bill, which reaffirms our bipartisan support in this chamber for the agreement, and i urge my colleagues to support it. with that, i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the yields.n the gentleman from new jersey. sires: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. gentleman new jersey. mr. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. suozzi.mr. king and mr. the united kingdom must safeguard ireland's peace, safety and prosperity as they work to secure a brexit deal. we must ensure ireland has a bright, strong future never returning to the violence and division of the troubles. the good friday agreement must be protected. i urge all the members to

support this important resolution. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 585. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and i'm sorry. s. 178 uighur le policy act of 2019 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill.

the clerk: senate 178 an act to ndemn and calling for an end to arbitrary torture and harassment of these communities inside and outside china. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires and snasm new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. mr. sires: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex trainous material on s. 178. i yield one minute to our speaker of the house, the gentlelady from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized. the speaker: i thank the gentleman. thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for

yielding and for his leadership and to you and to mr. smith, the gentleman from new jersey, for the champions for human rights, . mccaul and mr. engel and i thank them. and you, mr. speaker, a champion for human rights even before you came to congress. my colleagues, next week marks 71 years since the nations of the world gathered in paris to enshrine our global commitment to human rights. the opening words of that declaration read, recognition of e inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. whereas disregarding contempt of human rights has resulted in bash barous acts which raised the conscience of humankind.

they are under threat of beijing which are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world. across uighur people and other muslim minorities face brutal and mass surveillance and the arbitrary and nonconsenual collection of children's d.n.a. sm the mass incarceration of three million innocent people with solitary confinement and deprivation of food, forced sterilization and other forms of tortures, mass shootings and killings and the intimidation and expression of journalists, courageously exposing the truth. a former detainee said she faced, she said i would rather

die and begged them to kill me. another former detainee testified, we are all helpless and unable to defend ourselves and we have been crying. today, with this bicameral overwhelming bipartisan legislation, the united states congress is taking a critical tep to counter their human rights abuses. thank you to chairman engel and representative engel and chairman mcgomp. we are sending a message to beijing, america is watching and we will not stand silent. this legislation helps uncover the truth. reports of the director of national intelligence, the state department and f.b.i. adopt the depth of the crisis and china's

campaign by jourmists exposeing the facts and creates ensures transparency. and it engages the full fire power encouraging the application of sanctions and the full implementation of the frank after igious act named congressman frank wolf. the abuses extend from beyond the uighurs to hong kong's democracy and rule of law and jailing of journalists, journalists and christians and democracy advocates. democrats and republicans stand united with all people fighting for the human rights in the face of china's abuses and we passed

the hong kong human rights democracy act and we are grateful that the president has signed that legislation. as america does not speak out of human rights in china, we need to speak out for human rights any place in the world. in honor for those fighting for their rights in china and around the world, i urge a strong ipartisan for the uighur unified response act and thank ou mr. smith, mr. sires, mr. ozzi and i acknowledge the recognition of senator rubio. i yield become the balance of my time as i urge an aye vote. mr. sires: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume.

i want to thank the speaker for her very eloquent remarks antennasity in promoting human rights and respect of the rule of law. and in china and where president i is conducting massive crimes against humanity against uighur. i thank brad sherman and ted yoho for their deep and aboyding for the suffering people. i would like to express my pecial thanks to the 128th bipartisan co-sponsors. h.r. 649, comprehensive human rights legislation that i introduced earlier this year th tom swazzy to address the massive crimes against the

uighurs. it would require the administration to categorize and report of the abuses by the chinese communist party. each and every day takes specific steps and abuses ems through the and stop the greatest extent and the efforts to create a high tech police and surveillance state. despite of our bill 12 months ago and co-sponsorship by the speaker herself and the "washington post" endorsed it and they said a full year ago, this has become, that is the situation, one of the world's most human rights' crises. congress should pass this act. the senate bill is before us and i encourage my colleagues to pass h.r. 649 to vote for it. at a congressional hearing, that , one haired last year

recounted her horrifying ordeal with torture, sexual abuse and detention in one of china's internment camps, she broke down weeping telling us she pleaded with god to end her life. her chinese jailers chained her to a table and increased the electrical current and mocked her believe in god. she was tortured for being an ethnic uighur and a muslim in china. there are millions of stories to be told about the stories told each and every day against them and the turkish muslims. given this year's 0th

niversary of the tee and men massacre, we shouldn't be surprised by the brutality of the communist party. but the size and scale that is happening is repressive even by chinese low standards. the mass internment of people on a scale that has not been seen since the holocaust. children are indoctrinated in ommunist doctrine. rape, sexual abuse and forced abortions of women being held in internment camps, forced labor on a scale that allows chinese companies to profit from modern-day slavery. atrocities that can exist in the 21 st. century is sad. we must demand an end to these

ba baric practices and accountability from the chinese government. we must say never again to the cult trat genocide suffered by others in kine. ine ease authorities initially denied the existence of mass internment camps and said they were vocational training centers. ey applied sen soreship to stifle the discussion of their crimes. the new york city times and investigative journalists have exposed the brutality behind beijing's plan to transform the ulture of eggetic muslims in china. the leaked internal paper shows detailed plans between one million and three million

uighurs in modern-day concentration camps where they are subjected to efforts to those whose thinking has been infected, closed quote. beijing instituted plans to erase the influence of islam, bulldozing mosques and shrines to orcing cam detainees renounce their faiths. president x has directed the crackdown that the comeist must put the organs of dictatorship to work and show no mercy in dealing with the muslims. in one speech. exposed by the leaked documents president x inch said the weapons must be wielded without any hesitation or wavering.

in 2017 he told thousands of police officers and troops standing at attention to prepare for quote, smashing -- a smashing object late rating offensive. the communityist party officials who carried out his policies re and secret teams traveled across the region identifying those who are not doing enough. 2017, the party opened more than 12,000 investigations into party members. president x inch has created one f the most human rights. they are directly responsible, directly responsible for these crimes against humanity. our hope that a reckoning is coming but only if the international community stands

up to china. i would hope note with sadness and many muslim countries and i raised this myself, they have not been as critical of china as they ought to be and need to speak out and do it boldly and very clearly. i commend the trump administration for its actions over the past several years. they have issued strong statements and according to the u.s. commerce department just last month, 28 government agencies and businesses replaced on the entity list and the secretary of commerce put it, u.s. department will not olerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities. this will ensure that technology forced in individual liberty are not used to suppress defenseless minority populations. these are important steps. this legislation takes the next

step. more must be done. chinese officials need to be crimes crimes against and u.n. investigations. ose who tortured should know that justice is coming to them as well and the chinese government companies forcing labor need to be barred from coming into this country. i reserve the balance of my time. . . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: thank you, mr. speaker. r. speaker, i, first, would like to ask unanimous consent to submit in the congressional letters exchange of between the chair of the foreign affairs committee and the chair judiciary ontee of s. 178. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. mr. sires: let me first thank new hairman, mr. smith of jersey, for their work on this legislation. i also want to acknowledge the ork of the congressional executive commission on china, led by jim mcgovern. expertise and his staff his made a significant contribution of this velopment legislation. this bill addresses one of the most egregious violations of world today.in the more than one million uighurs muslim ethnic minorities have been detained by sent inese government and to camps in xinjiang where they torture, sexual abuse, brainwashing, and other abuses erase the pt to culture and their religion. the chinese government is these atrocities under the guise of anti-terrorism efforts and the have been denied ndou process. the severity of this disgrace recently confirmed by leaked

confidential chinese documents that detailed how sinister these are.ies meeting with members of the uyghur american community is a experience. they have stories about family members in china that can no reached. friends that have gone missing, reports after reports of abuse, and mistreatment. the intention of the top chinese party leadership, through this campaign, is clear. the short term, xinjiang into and son for religious ethnic minorities and force them the evidence of their unique culture, history, and religion. has a nese government long record of oppressing christians and other ethnic religious minorities. efforts s these

different is the use of technology to erase the uighurs and their way of life. in some cases, these technologies can be traced back american companies and institutions. unfortunately, we have yet to by the trump administration. response to add a to the tech firm entities list, there needs to be those who uences for have designed and built these internal camps. with the bills we are today, the house of representatives are making clear that there needs to be more repercussions. specifically, this bill calls on the secretary of state to those responsible for with global magnitsky sanctions, including of assets.

it will also require the merican firms to do diligence on how and where technology is becomesed so they do not part of the chinese government's campaign to violate rights of own citizens. this legislation is -- this legislation is a necessary most se to one of the pressing human rights concerns in the world today. i am glad the house is it, and i encourage all members to vote for passage. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield consume to he may the distinguished gentleman from texas, the ranking member, mr. mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of this bipartisan uighur act. i want to commend my colleagues, all three of you from new -- i think it's a new jersey day on the floor, but mr. sires, you, sir, mr. mull mullinous key, the

communist government of china believed - it's between one million to three million ethnic minorities have een detained and sent to internment camps where they are ndoctrine ated with -- indoctrinated with propaganda. the goal is to strip these individuals of their religious cultural identity. are never detained heard from again. families have been torn apart. sons and daughters are left ever ing if they'll be reunited with their moms and dads. ome of our most senior officials, including national security advisor robert o'brian, these detention centers as, quote, concentration camps. mike pompeo state has referred to china's epression as the stain of the century. the chinese government states are part of their

efforts to combat violent extremism and these are job facilities. but what's happening is nothing less than a state respond ord campaign -- c ponsored and systematic campaign of genocide. as a beacon of hope to the rest the united states cannot stay silence. if we do, our silence will be complicit.as our our inaction will become our appeasement, and we know that chinese communist party will loved nothing more than for the mirror its world to authoritarianism. we cannot allow this to happen. this legislation gives us the opportunity to take real action help stop these evil crimes. first, it provides that the policy towards china should be explicitly linked to the human rights abuses. second, requires the application of the global magnitsky officials n chinese

responsible for repression uighur or turkic muslims. third, mandates the state smits to congress the -- submits to congress the abuses and does not let the export to china used to deny t's basic human rights. want to thank our colleagues, particularly brad sherman, who with uced this, along senator rubio, for all their efforts to get this done to where we are today. so let's come together as republicans and democrats to atrocities committed by the communist dictatorship in have consequences. let's show the world the united a cost on thepose chinese communist party's anders for their crimes now

in the future. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i yield minutes to the chairman of the subcommittee on asia, the nonproliferation, the gentleman from california, mr. sherman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. i thank the gentleman for yielding. favor of s. ak in 178, the uighur act. best of both the worlds. it has a senate bill number and ouse of representatives content. the bill came over from the unanimously en we adopted it in the foreign affairs committee. my amendment in the nature of a which put together three bills focused on the issue. it included the work of senators menendez o and robert founded in s. 178. 649 of found in h.r.

chris smith and tom suozzi of house. nd the legislation that i reintroduced with the ranking member of the asia subcommittee, yoho, h.r. 1025. bill represents putting together those three bills to with the detention of over one million uighurs and other xinjiang orities in and other chinese repression of population.inority has hinese government sought to erase the distinct muslim culture through mass detentions, re-education a coordinated campaign under a banner, strike extremism, violent launched in 2014. leaked o recently

chinese communist party documents, we now know that the campaign came s from the highest levels of the chinese party. n april, 2014, general secretary xi ordered the party officials to -- and these are show absolutely no organs of ing dictatorship. another quoted phrase. suppress muslim minorities. more than a million uighurs were camps.prisoned in in a country with the rule of by the 're incarcerated state because you've been defined statutory offense. why are one million people barbed wire in xinjiang china?e of the charge against them is their by king has been infected unhealthy thoughts. anyone the world would

be free if a million people can e incarcerated because the government has determined that their thoughts are unhealthy? camps, th re-education the strike hard campaign has also involved high-tech monitoring of d uighurs, monitoring of and religious muslim practices, including funeral practices, and suppression of language. beyond its borders, the party as tried to intimidate chinese muslim minorities living abroad. and in china, some individuals permanently -- permanent residency status in the united states have been prohibited from leaving the region. n xinjiang, the party has families have homes.live in their this is staggering. the legislation before us is an important start, but it's only a

start. in our efforts to counter chinese repression of its muslim minorities. and we will have hearings in the asia subcommittee to develop america l steps that could take. i want to highlight two parts of this legislation. the , the bill requires president to impose the global magnitsky sanctions against all officials who are responsible for the repression of the uighurs. point when past the this should have been done, and it should not be linked to oroing negotiations on trade any other issue. second, the bill requires the commerce department to update export controls to ensure that the commerce control list, governs duo use items, is updated to create a special china.for commerce will be required to identify items that assist in surveillance, mass detention, and forced labor china today.on in and deny licenses for the export reexport of those items --

re-export of those items to china. used to further one of the most egregious human ights violations of our time and rewriting this legislation and the nature of a substitute coming out of the foreign we ensured wetee, hinder beneficial commerce. this included thorough discussions with the tech industry. engel and chairman ranking member mccaul, of course, our speaker, nancy who was here. thank senators rubio and enendez, chris smith and tom suozzi. i thank jim mcgovern for his bork -- his work, and i that i partner in -- my partner in unning the subcommittee, mr. yoho. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. yoho. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. yoho: thank you, mr.

speaker. and i just want to give my strong support for s. 178. look back over the years when we've seen this and e had these discussions in our foreign affairs committee about are going ons that in the xinjiang province. you know, we -- last year we the concentration camps that we see going up and about ere were reports the creamtoriums going in and we ead advertisements to hire guards for the creamtorium, they must be physically fit, they be able to defend themselves, and they need to know how to use a weapon, so creamtoriums set up in this province. my question is, why do you need crematoru -- crematoriums o burn people, you know, america is the leader of the

free world and all those who believe in freedom and liberty, they must stand up against this injustice and if you believe the rds of general eisenhower at ause witnesses when he said never will we allow it to happen and happening in an country that is suppressing freedom around the world. we see it in hong kong and what they have done with tibet and do it with any country or any population that is against the communist party, chinese communist party. if we don't do this, and the world needs to wake up. anything we buy something that says made in china, we are empowering them to do the same thing over and over again and time we make a strong stand and s. 178 is the way to do this and

i look forward to being signed into law and strong signal from america being the leaders in the free world for the rest of the world to send a strong signal back to china. we will not put up with this. and i would like to thank the sponsors of this bill for doing what you are doing. because this is the message that people around the world don't know what's going on and this body is leading the charge on this and i'm proud to be associated with it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. suozzi: thank you, mr. sires for yielding your time. i rise in strong support of the bipartisan senate bill 178 which holds the chinese government

accountable for their truly horrific treatment of the uighur muslim minorities and internment of over 1 million people who are sexual abuse and forced labor in western china. thank chairman engel and subcommittee chairman sherman in supporting this legislation to punish china for their human rights violations. i am proud to work with chris smith and senator rubio to help right part of this truly bipartisan legislation. mr. speaker, uighur families are prohibited from practicing their muslim faith and separated from their family members and prohibited from reading their aily prayers and forced to eat pork even during ramadan which

violates their religion. uighurs are forced to work in food, text till near the internment camps are repugnant to our human values. the persecution of the uighurs is alarming but not new. china has continued to repress including the tibet and the people of hong kong as we have seen. since president nixon went to china, most americans have bleevet that with increased economic integration and exposure to our democracy in the west the chinese government would adopt some of our democratic values. this clearly has not happened. not only has they rejected real steps to democracy and continued practices, but

it violates human rights. the united states must hold the chinese communist people for oppression of the uighurs and disregard for international law. i urge my colleagues to support the passage of this important and truly bipartisan legislation. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. sires: i reserve. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume to close. mr. speaker, what has been done to date, chinese companies profitting from forced labor must be prohibited from exporting goods to the united states and to other countries. the united states has blocked one chinese company for forced labor but there are many other companies particularly in the manufacturing of cotton and garments that are profitting. many more companies need to be

barred from entering in the u.s. market. president xi has imposed upon the people, the united states eds to address the high tech authoritarianism of what is being exhibited. they are using it the province as a police and surveillance state. and it is being exported around the world to some countries in africa and beyond. every dictator and aspiring authoritarian can use this technology to crush democratic aspirations, religious freedom and the rule of law. uighur americans, who i have been friends had hearings, unbelievable leader. her entire family and extended

family, dozens of people have been rounded up and put into prison. another one have had their families as well threaten to detain because they dare to speak up here in the united states. so many uighur americans have experienced family detention and disappearances, a cruelty laid at the feet of president xi. he goes after the whole family and the women in prisons in china are sexually abused and tortured and the men are as well. the message should be clear. the united states wants to hold the chinese government and the chinese governments accountable for crimes against humanity and the cruelty they inflict on your families and loved ones. we will not be silent.

justice is coming and we demand accountability. i thank the reporters of radio free agent uighur service. their families have been rounded up and put into concentration camps by president xi's dictatorship. this is beyond horrific and we need to respond. i want to note the contribution of dr. flip si and the uighur human rights poll sill act and the hong kong democracy and human rights act that was signed into law a few days ago and thank directors and current aff members for helping this congress shine a bright light on the atrocities and our full and subcommittee staffers as well and done work on this terrible

issue. we need to be reunited with all americans saying never again. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. sires. mr. sires: i yield myself such time as i may consume for the purpose of closing. it has been more than three years since the chinese authorities have accelerated and expanded their expanded campaign. the global response to these abuses up until now has been insignificant partly due to the successful campaign that the regime has coerced sealens from those who speak out. they have been taught and there has been little action. today we have the opportunity to turn the tide by sending a strong message of support to the uighur people and the accountability for those chinese officials who have violated

their own people's rights and religious freedoms for years with impunity. i urge my colleagues to join me in sending a strong message to the perpetrators and victims alike for support in this legislation. and mr. speaker, before i yield, i would like to point out there are three members of the new jersey delegation here, two of them are refugees from communism. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 178 as amended. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 -- mr. sires: mr. speaker, i reck questions the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the quains are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays

will rise and remain standing until counted. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this will tions on be postponed. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. 2151, an act to designate the facility of the united states post alpha silt in new at 7722 in plains post s shanom m. kemp office. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house