The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DIVIDED FAMILIES REUNIFICATION ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1547-H1548 on March 9, 2020.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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DIVIDED FAMILIES REUNIFICATION ACT
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1771) to require consultations on reuniting Korean Americans with family members in North Korea, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1771
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Divided Families Reunification Act''.
SEC. 2. CONSULTATIONS ON REUNITING KOREAN AMERICANS WITH
FAMILY MEMBERS IN NORTH KOREA.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The division of the Korean Peninsula into South Korea and North Korea separated thousands of Koreans from family members.
(2) Since the signing of the Agreement Concerning a Military Armistice in Korea, signed at Panmunjom July 27, 1953 (commonly referred to as the ``Korean War Armistice Agreement''), there has been little to no contact between Korean Americans and family members who remain in North Korea.
(3) North Korea and South Korea first agreed to reunions of divided families in 1985 and have since held 21 face-to-face reunions and multiple video link reunions.
(4) Those reunions have subsequently given approximately 24,500 Koreans the opportunity to briefly reunite with loved ones.
(5) The most recent family reunions between North Korea and South Korea took place in August 2018 and did not include any Korean Americans.
(6) The United States and North Korea do not maintain diplomatic relations and certain limitations exist on Korean Americans participating in face-to-face reunions.
(7) According to the most recent census, more than 1,700,000 people living in the United States are of Korean descent.
(8) The number of first generation Korean and Korean American family members divided from family members in North Korea is rapidly diminishing given the advanced age of those family members. More than 3,000 elderly South Koreans die each year without having been reunited with their family members.
(9) Many Korean Americans with family members in North Korea have not seen or communicated with those family members in more than 60 years.
(10) The inclusion of Korean American families in the reunion process would constitute a positive humanitarian gesture by the Government of North Korea.
(11) Section 1265 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 407) required the President to submit to Congress a report on
``efforts, if any, of the United States Government to facilitate family reunions between United States citizens and their relatives in North Korea''.
(12) The position of Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues has been vacant since January 2017, although the President is required to appoint a Senate-confirmed Special Envoy to fill this position in accordance with section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817).
(13) In the report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 3081, 111th Congress (House Report 111-187), the Committee urged ``the Special Representative on North Korea Policy, as the senior official handling North Korea issues, to prioritize the issues involving Korean divided families and to, if necessary, appoint a coordinator for such families''.
(b) Consultations.--
(1) Consultations with south korea.--The Secretary of State, or a designee of the Secretary, should consult with officials of South Korea, as appropriate, on potential opportunities to reunite Korean American families with family members in North Korea from which such Korean American families were divided after the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, including potential opportunities for video reunions for Korean Americans with such family members.
(2) Consultations with korean americans.--The Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues of the Department of State should regularly consult with representatives of Korean Americans who have family members in North Korea with respect to efforts to reunite families divided after the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, including potential opportunities for video reunions for Korean Americans with such family members.
(3) No additional authorization of appropriations.--No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State to carry out consultations under this subsection.
(c) Additional Matter in Report.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, shall include in each report required under section 107(d) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)), a description of the consultations described in subsection (b) conducted during the year preceding the submission of each report required under such section 107(d).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 1771.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking Ms. Meng for sponsoring this good bill to provide much-needed relief to Korean Americans who have been separated from their family members, many of them for decades now.
The Korean war tore families apart almost 70 years ago, and it is a humanitarian tragedy that many of them have been separated ever since. It is long past time for these families to be able to reunite. People who lost their parents when they were only toddlers are now senior citizens with children and grandchildren of their own.
The Divided Families Reunification Act requires the Department of State to consult with our South Korean allies, and the Korean-American community to make more of these reunions happen as soon as possible. Anyone who has seen footage of these reunions can attest to their profound significance--they demonstrate that the bonds of family cannot be severed by wars, by decades, by distance, or by government repression.
This bill also requires the Department of State to report to Congress on opportunities to facilitate more reunions by video connection, which is especially important to allow all Korean Americans, including those who might have difficulty with traveling long distances, a real opportunity to reconnect with their family members.
An important role in executing this humanitarian policy is the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights issues. It is deeply concerning that the Trump administration has left this position vacant for over 2 years, since January 2017. Human rights in North Korea remains a bipartisan priority for this Congress, but if we are going to effectively advance these policies, we need to make sure that we have the people in place to execute them.
Mr. Speaker, the Divided Families Reunification Act is an excellent, bipartisan bill to continue United States' efforts to reunite families torn apart by the Korean war. I hope all Members will join me in supporting it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Divided Families Reunification Act introduced by Representative Meng.
The sad legacy of the Korean war is with us even today, almost 70 years after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The Korean Peninsula remains divided between a nation of free people and a nation that subjects its people to tyranny.
The Kim regime continues to threaten the peace and security of the region and of the world. Families remain broken, from those still fighting to bring their loved ones' remains home, to those with family members trapped in North Korea.
Our vibrant Korean-American community feels this legacy strongly, so I commend Congresswoman Meng for her bill, which directs the State Department to consult with South Korea and Korean Americans on opportunities to reunite families separated by the DMZ.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill to support the thousands of Korean Americans whose families were torn apart by the Korean war.
One of the most important tasks carried out by the State Department is the reunion of Americans with their family members, and this act would focus that good work on a group of people who have waited decades for that chance.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support the same.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1771, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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