Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced the following upcoming Committee events.
Thursday, September 17
Subcommittee Markup: H. Res. 277 and H. Res. 293
1:45 p.m. on Thursday, September 17 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Bills to be marked up include.
H. Res. 277, Honoring the Tunisian People for their democratic transition
H. Res. 293, Expressing concern over anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement within the Palestinian Authority
Thursday, September 17
Subcommittee Hearing: Major Beneficiaries of the Iran Deal: IRGC and Hezbollah
2 p.m. on Thursday, September 17 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include.
Emanuele Ottolenghi, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Matthew Levitt, Ph.D.
Fromer-Wexler Fellow
Director
Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Suzanne Maloney, Ph.D.
Interim Deputy Director
Center for Middle East Policy
The Brookings Institution
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing: “The Iran deal is set to bring massive sanctions relief to Iran’s most dangerous internal and external actors: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. This hearing will examine the IRGC’s security, political, and economic role inside Iran, and the IRGC and Hezbollah’s role in executing Iranian foreign policy. Members will have the opportunity to hear from experts to better understand the negative consequences of sanctions relief on the security of the United States and that of our allies like the democratic Jewish State of Israel."
Thursday, September 17
Subcommittee Hearing: Challenges to Religious Freedom in the Americas
2 p.m. on Thursday, September 17 in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Chairman
Invited Witnesses Include.
Ms. Anna-Lee Stangl
Senior Advocacy Officer for the Americas
Christian Solidarity Worldwide - UK
Mr. Ricardo Luna
Global Vice President
Confraternidad Evangélica Latina
Mr. Dennis P. Petri
Research Coordinator for Latin America
Associate Director
World Watch Research
Open Doors International
Chairman Duncan on the hearing: “While the world’s attention has been rightly focused on the horrendous atrocities being committed against religious minorities in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, the state of religious freedom in our own hemisphere deserves scrutiny as well. Religious liberty, the freedom to follow one’s own conscience and perceived duties to God, was revered by our Founding Fathers, recognized by and woven into the U.S. Constitution as a fundamental right, and later recognized internationally as a fundamental human right. The ability to worship and exercise one’s faith without fear of attack, censure, bribery, or government reprisal is also an important metric of freedom in any country. While Christians and other religious minorities do not face the same intense level of persecution in Latin America and the Caribbean that they experience elsewhere in the world, this year has seen an uptick in religious freedom violations in several countries in the Western Hemisphere, including in Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Central America. This hearing will examine the state of religious freedom in the Americas, the efforts of the Obama Administration to prioritize this issue in the region, and ways the U.S. can more effectively support the free exercise of religion in the region."
***See foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.
*** All Committee proceedings are webcast live HERE.
