Washington, D.C. - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) announced the following upcoming committee events.
Tuesday, May 22
Hearing: Advancing Effective Conservation Policy Worldwide: Successes, Challenges, and Next Steps
*(See below for information on markup of H.R. 4819 immediately following hearing.)
10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22, in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Ms. Gretchen S. Peters
Executive Director
Center on Illicit Networks and Transnational Organized Crime
Mr. Dave Stewart
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Vulcan
Elizabeth L. Bennett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Species Conservation
Wildlife Conservation Society
Chairman Royce on the hearing: “The END Wildlife Trafficking Act is helping combat terrorists, gangsters and other dangerous criminals engaged in illegal wildlife trafficking and poaching. Operation Jungle Book, the largest crackdown on wildlife trafficking in California’s history, was carried out last year using authorities provided by this law. But of course, we still face many significant challenges in our work to protect the world’s most majestic animals from extinction. This hearing will look at how we can build on recent wins for conservation - including China’s move to shutter its ivory trade - with strong public-private partnerships and new initiatives like the DELTA Act."
*Tuesday, May 22
Markup: H.R. 4819, to promote inclusive economic growth through conservation and biodiversity programs that facilitate transboundary cooperation, improve natural resource management, and build local capacity to protect and preserve threatened wildlife species in the greater Okavango River Basin of southern Africa.
Markup will begin immediately following the conclusion of the above hearing.
Approximately 12 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman
Tuesday, May 22
Subcommittee Hearing: Lebanon and Iraq: After the Elections
2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Michael Doran, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
The Hudson Institute
Ms. Danielle Pletka
Senior Vice President
Foreign and Defense Policy Studies
American Enterprise Institute
Tamara Cofman Wittes, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Center for Middle East Policy
The Brookings Institution
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing: “Recent elections in Lebanon and Iraq will have significant ramifications for their citizens and the wider Middle East in the years ahead. With Hezbollah’s power growing in Lebanon and Sadr winning in Iraq, this hearing will allow members to assess the elections and determine how the U.S. can protect its interests moving forward. The hearing will also serve as an opportunity to get a better sense of how outside actors, particularly Iran, may have influenced the election results and to evaluate how the U.S. should counter that influence."
Tuesday, May 22
Subcommittee Hearing: Geopolitics of U.S. Oil and Gas Competitiveness
2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ph.D.
Senior Director
Center for Energy Studies
Baker Institute for Public Policy
Rice University
Mr. David Carroll
President and Chief Executive Officer
Gas Technology Institute
Ms. Sarah Ladislaw
Director and Senior Fellow
Energy and National Security Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ms. Samantha Gross
Fellow
Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate
The Brookings Institution
Chairman Poe on the hearing: “America’s oil and gas industry is a force multiplier for U.S. influence around the world. For decades, many of the planet’s great energy producers have been despotic regimes who leveraged their oil wealth to oppress their own people or pursue nefarious foreign policies. But as the U.S. has developed innovative new ways to extract oil and gas resources where they were previously unreachable, we now have the power to greatly minimize the influence of states like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela over the international energy market. This hearing will examine the global implications of increased U.S. oil and gas competitiveness and how it could be utilized to strengthen American foreign policy."
Wednesday, May 23
Hearing: Strengthening American Diplomacy: Reviewing the State Department’s Budget, Operations, and Policy Priorities
**Media RSVP requirement by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22. Details HERE.
9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23, in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman
Invited witness.
The Honorable Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Chairman Royce on the hearing: “As this committee continues its work to strengthen our national security - including by maintaining pressure on North Korea and pursuing critical reforms to our food aid and international broadcasting programs - we look forward to hearing from Secretary Pompeo about the administration’s foreign affairs priorities."
Wednesday, May 23
Subcommittee Hearing: Combatting Transnational Criminal Threats in the Western Hemisphere
2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Mr. Richard Glenn
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Ms. Jennifer Fowler
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
U.S. Department of Treasury
Rear Admiral Brian Hendrickson, USN
Director
Network Engagement Team
U.S. Southern Command
Mr. Raymond Villanueva
Assistant Director for International Operations
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Chairman Cook on the hearing: “Transnational criminal organizations profit from illegally trafficking drugs, weapons, and people. Their illicit activities throughout the Western Hemisphere are threatening to destabilize the region with violence, and they have directly contributed to the opioid epidemic facing our own country. President Trump has demonstrated that tackling these threats is a critical U.S. priority, and Congress has the responsibility to ensure that our federal agencies have the authorities and resources necessary to combat the threats by these networks. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this includes the Mexican drug cartels, MS-13 and other transnational gangs, and Iran-backed Hezbollah. This hearing will examine these threats and how the U.S. can more effectively target these organizations’ financial resources and undermine their business structures. Following the recent Summit of the Americas, this hearing will also consider how the U.S. and our partners can strengthen democratic governance and anti-corruption efforts to stop these organizations from continuing to profit from government corruption."
Wednesday, May 23
Subcommittee Hearing: Asia’s Diplomatic and Security Structure: Planning U.S. Engagement
2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, in 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Amy Searight, Ph.D.
Senior Adviser and Director
Southeast Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Aparna Pande, Ph.D.
Director
Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia
The Hudson Institute
Michael D. Swaine, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Asia Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Chairman Yoho on the hearing: “Even as crises like North Korea’s nuclear belligerence consume massive amounts of our diplomatic energy, the United States must keep working to advance our longer term strategic priorities in the Asia-Pacific. The new National Security Strategy reflects a return to great power competition, acknowledging that the U.S.-China relationship is fundamentally competitive. Fortunately, the United States isn’t alone in this competition. Our planning prioritizes an emerging diplomatic and security architecture for Asia that is made up of like-minded partners with shared visions for Asia’s future. The U.S.-Japan-India-Australia ‘Quad’ stands to be a robust bloc of committed democracies. Many Pacific nations including the United States are embracing a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ strategy that recognizes the importance of the Indian Ocean and rejects China’s desire for regional hegemony. ASEAN is growing in importance as the geopolitical center of Southeast Asia, but also struggling to advance its members’ individual and collective interests in the face of China’s rising power. In this hearing, the Subcommittee will examine these elements of Asia’s diplomatic and security architecture, and evaluate the administration’s plans for engaging with them. The discussion will identify priorities for the Subcommittee’s future work, and for upcoming budget oversight hearings."
Wednesday, May 23
Subcommittee Hearing: Chinese Investment and Influence in Europe
2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman
Invited witnesses include.
Mr. Philippe Le Corre
Senior Fellow
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Mr. Gordon Chang
Author
Mr. Kevin D. Freeman
Author
Chairman Rohrabacher on the hearing: “For some time, communist China has manipulated its trade arrangements with the West. Additionally, China steals American intellectual property, manipulates currency, and influences our information environment. China’s ‘One Belt, One Road,’ which projects China’s activity into Europe, is part of a greater grand strategic plan to become dominant by conducting economic warfare against the West. This hearing will expose hostile Chinese tactics and intentions as it becomes an ever-larger investor inside Europe as part of this overall strategy."
***See www.foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.
***Coverage note: All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live at www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.
