[House Hearing, 112 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM; AND CONCERNING EFFORTS TO
PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT AND
AVERT FAMINE IN THE HORN OF AFRICA, PARTICULARLY SOMALIA, ETHIOPIA,
DJIBOUTI, AND KENYA
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BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 1410 and H. Res. 361
__________
FEBRUARY 8, 2012
__________
Serial No. 112-124
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
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http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
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______
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
DAN BURTON, Indiana GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ELTON GALLEGLY, California ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California BRAD SHERMAN, California
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
RON PAUL, Texas GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MIKE PENCE, Indiana RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
JOE WILSON, South Carolina ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
CONNIE MACK, Florida GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas DENNIS CARDOZA, California
TED POE, Texas BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
DAVID RIVERA, Florida FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania KAREN BASS, California
TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York
RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina
ROBERT TURNER, New York
Yleem D.S. Poblete, Staff Director
Richard J. Kessler, Democratic Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania KAREN BASS, California
ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
ROBERT TURNER, New York
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
MARKUP OF
H.R. 1410, To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam........... 3
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1410 offered by
the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in
Congress from the State of New Jersey, and chairman,
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights...... 23
H. Res. 361, Concerning efforts to provide humanitarian relief to
mitigate the effects of drought and avert famine in the Horn of
Africa, particularly Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya.... 42
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 361 offered
by the Honorable Donald M. Payne, a Representative in
Congress from the State of New Jersey........................ 48
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 60
Markup minutes................................................... 61
TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM; AND CONCERNING EFFORTS TO
PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT AND
AVERT FAMINE IN THE HORN OF AFRICA, PARTICULARLY SOMALIA, ETHIOPIA,
DJIBOUTI, AND KENYA
----------
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2012
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
and Human Rights
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:38 p.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H.
Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Smith. The subcommittee will come to order.
Pursuant to notice, the subcommittee meets this afternoon
to mark up H.R. 1410, the Vietnam Human Rights Act, and H. Res.
361, concerning efforts to provide humanitarian relief to
mitigate the effects of drought and to avert famine in the Horn
of Africa, particularly in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and
Kenya.
As our members are aware, these measures enjoy strong
bipartisan support. And there are, right now, competing
hearings and other events taking place this afternoon,
including other markups. And I thank my colleagues for coming
who are in the midst of another markup. Thus, it is the intent
of the Chair to consider these bills en bloc and by unanimous
consent, including the substitute amendments sent to you on
Monday.
I want to say that we have worked very cooperatively with
the minority. It has been a very good cooperation on both
bills. We have vetted virtually every paragraph, every
sentence, and every word, and now we have before us a finished
product. All members have copies of those documents before
them.
And then after we have concluded our expedited
consideration, I will be glad to recognize Ms. Bass, of course
myself, and any other member of the committee who would like to
speak to either or both of the measures before us. All members
are given leave to insert written remarks into the record,
should they choose to do so.
Seeing that a quorum is present, and without objection, the
following measures are considered as read; the following
amendments, which members have before them, are deemed adopted;
and the measures, as amended, are reported favorably to the
full Committee on Foreign Affairs: H.R. 1410, the Vietnam Human
Rights Act; the Smith amendment, No. 68, to H.R. 1410, which is
the amendment in the nature of a substitute provided to your
offices on Monday; and H. Res. 361, concerning efforts to
provide humanitarian relief to mitigate the effects of drought
and avert famine in the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia,
Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya.
We will include the Payne amendment, No. 46, offered by my
friend and colleague, Ms. Bass, on behalf of Ranking Member
Payne, who I would point out is very ill and cannot be here
today. And this is an amendment in the nature of a substitute,
which was also sent to each office on Monday.
Hearing no objection, it is so ordered. The amended bills
are adopted. And, without objection, the staff is directed to
make technical and conforming changes.
[The information referred to follows:]
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1
Mr. Smith. Now that we have completed that portion, I would
like to--and I thank my colleagues for coming from their
markups to be here for it, and please stay as long as you can--
but I would like to now speak to the first bill and then yield
to my good friend and my colleague, Ms. Bass, to speak to the
Payne bill.
I say to my colleagues, as the subcommittee heard from
several of our witnesses at a hearing on January 24th, last
month, the Vietnamese Government continues to be an egregious
violator of a broad array of human rights. The testimony we
heard confirmed that religious, political, and ethnic
persecution continue and, in many cases, is actually
increasing, and that Vietnamese officials continue to lay out
the welcome mat for forced labor as well as sex traffickers.
In particular, we heard from a Vietnamese woman who
courageously fought for her own rights and those of her co-
workers when they were trafficked to Jordan with the complicity
of the Vietnamese Government officials.
We also heard from Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, the executive
director of Boat People SOS, who recently traveled to Thailand
to investigate human rights violations in Vietnam. Dr. Thang
provided extensive details about current labor trafficking,
forced labor, and disturbing denials by the U.N. High
Commissioner on Refugees of Vietnamese labor and sex
trafficking victims.
In addition, our witnesses provided deeply disturbing
photographs, evidence of torture, and showed a video of the
Vietnamese military destroying an entire village of Hmong
Christians.
It is imperative that the United States Government send an
unequivocal message to the Vietnamese regime that it must end
its human rights abuses against its own citizens. For this
reason, I reintroduced the Vietnam Human Rights Act and I have
brought it before the committee for consideration today.
The Foreign Affairs Committee adopted my amendments on the
promotion of human rights in Vietnam to H.R. 2583, the Foreign
Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 last July, and
much of that is reflected in this bill today. I note
parenthetically that the House has twice passed the Vietnam
Human Rights Act. Sadly, it has languished and then died in the
Senate, but we have every intention of making sure that this
legislation is not treated so this time.
The purpose of H.R. 1410 is to promote the development of
freedom and democracy in Vietnam. It seeks to do so primarily
by stipulating that the United States can increase its
assistance to Vietnam above Fiscal Year 2011 levels only when
the President is able to certify that the Government of Vietnam
has made substantial progress in establishing a democracy and
promoting human rights, including: Respecting freedom of
religion and releasing all religious prisoners; respecting
rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and associations;
releasing all political prisoners, independent journalists, and
labor activists; repealing and revising laws that criminalize
peaceful dissent, independent media, unsanctioned religious
activities, and nonviolent demonstrations in accordance with
international human rights standards; respecting the human
rights of members of all ethnic groups; and taking all
appropriate steps, including prosecution of government
officials, to end any government complicity in human
trafficking.
In addition to such a certification, the United States
would have to increase funding for human rights and rule of law
programming in Vietnam in an amount equal to or greater than
the increase in non-humanitarian assistance. The legislation
includes a waiver of the increase certification requirement for
any year in which the President determines that increased non-
humanitarian assistance to Vietnam would promote the purpose of
the act or would otherwise be in the national interest of the
United States of America. The bill would not prevent increased
funding to the Vietnamese Government for disaster relief, food,
medicine, refugees, and efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.
I want to thank my colleagues for supporting this
legislation. We have a very large number of bipartisan co-
sponsors on the bill. And I just, again, want to thank my
colleagues for their support of the bill.
I would like to yield to Ms. Bass for her comments,
especially on H. Res. 361.
Ms. Bass. Thank you, Chairman Smith. I want to join you in
wishing my colleague, Mr. Payne, best wishes. I hope he gets
better soon. And I am happy to enter these remarks on his
behalf.
Two weeks ago, this subcommittee held a hearing on the
human rights situation in Vietnam. At that hearing, we heard
how, under the authoritarian rule of the Vietnamese Communist
Party, the repression of activists and dissidents has recently
intensified. Through unlawful arrests and detainment, the
government has suppressed its people's right to expression,
assembly, and association.
NGOs have reported that detainees are subject to forced
labor, torture, and even death. In 2011 alone, 21 people died
in police custody. Ethnic minorities, such as the Montagnards
and Hmong, have faced abuse and discrimination. Religious
minorities are also persecuted.
This bill is in response to these human rights abuses and
would condition additional U.S. aid to Vietnam on improvement
in these areas. While the U.S. should not support government-
sponsored oppression, I am concerned that by putting conditions
on foreign aid, we risk harming the innocent people this bill
aims to help.
Additionally, I fail to see how Vietnam is an exception. If
we are to apply more stringent human rights conditions to U.S.
aid, then those conditions should be applied across the board
instead of singling out any one nation.
That being said, this bill does not end aid to Vietnam but,
rather, freezes it at the Fiscal Year 2011 level of $125
million and includes a Presidential waiver. Therefore, I will
vote in favor of this bill and encourage my colleagues to do
the same.
I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Ms. Bass.
I would like to now move on to House Res. 361, sponsored by
Ranking Member Donald Payne and the amendment in the nature of
a substitute.
This resolution calls on the U.S. Government to continue to
help alleviate the impact of the humanitarian emergency
conditions prevailing in East Africa. Our subcommittee held
several hearings on East Africa's various humanitarian crises
last year, including the Somalia hearing in July, the Southern
Kordofan hearing in August, and the East Africa famine hearing
in September. This measure before us details the crisis and
suggests steps to overcome the tragedy of hunger and disease
afflicting the people in the Horn of Africa.
Despite the easing of famine conditions in central and
southern Somalia, the drought in East Africa continues to
affect more than 13 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia,
and Djibouti. Even with the improvements, the food security
outlook for the Horn of Africa from January to March 2012
remains fragile, according to the U.S. Agency for International
Development, due to a loss of livelihood assets during
successive seasons of failed rains, conflict, livestock
disease, above-normal food and non-food prices, as well as
flooding.
The drought in East Africa was part of a persistent weather
trend in the region. And while drought is one reason for food
shortages, it has been exacerbated by stagnating agricultural
development and unsustainable forms of livelihood.
In our July 7th Somalia hearing, Nancy Lindborg, Assistant
Administrator in USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and
Humanitarian Assistance, raised the issue of the long-term need
for changes in livelihoods in the region. H. Res. 361 addresses
the issue of sustainable use of natural resources as a means of
ensuring food security in the region in the long term.
In Somalia, the hardest-hit country in the region, the
terrorist group al-Shabaab has obstructed delivery of
humanitarian assistance and directly threatened aid agencies.
It is also interrogating aid workers and has accused them of
spying for the West or proselytizing. Maritime piracy and the
hijacking of aid shipments has also hindered the provision of
aid. The result was an estimated 2.2 million people in southern
Somalia, representing some 60 percent of those who remained in
the country at one point, in need of aid, but out of reach of
most aid agencies.
H. Res. 361 calls on all parties in the conflict in
Somalia, including al-Shabaab, to allow unrestricted access to
international and local nongovernmental humanitarian
organizations, especially for the benefit of the most
vulnerable among them.
This resolution acknowledges the more than $870 million the
United States Government has devoted to meeting the emergency
needs in East Africa and urges other donors in international
and local nongovernmental agencies to join us in the
development activities on behalf of the people of the Horn of
Africa.
H. Res. 361 is a very important piece of legislation, and I
know my colleagues, as we go to the full committee and to the
floor, will support it, and I hope it will be unanimous.
Ms. Bass?
Ms. Bass. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Payne's amendment in the nature of a substitute to
House Resolution 361 updates the resolution to reflect the
current situation in the Horn of Africa and calls on U.S.
donors and local and international NGOs to continue their
support of the people of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti
affected by the humanitarian crisis.
Last year, the Horn of Africa experienced the worst drought
in 60 years. Due to decades of internal conflict, poor
infrastructure, and a myriad of other factors, the region was
ill-equipped to handle a drought of this magnitude. What
followed was one of the most severe humanitarian crises of our
time. At the height of the crisis, 6 regions of Somalia were
declared a famine, 750,000 people were at risk of death,
millions were forced to flee their homes, and tens of thousands
of children died of malnourishment.
Given al-Shabaab's control over much of Somalia, aid
organizations were unable to reach many of those affected. The
amendment also acknowledges the deteriorating security
situation at refugee camps in Dadaab in Kenya and Dolo Ado in
Ethiopia which has resulted in the limited delivery of
humanitarian assistance. The situation is particularly
worrying, complex, and tenuous in the Dadaab refugee camps,
where the threat of improvised explosive devices, kidnappings,
vehicle hijackings, and banditry remains high.
This resolution also recognizes the sacrifices that aid
workers make every day as they risk their own lives while
trying to save the lives of others. With the U.S. leadership,
the international community responded. I commend the Obama
administration for their commitment of over $870 million to
implement emergency and long-term interventions to address the
crisis.
The resolution encourages continued coordinated long-term
interventions that build up the resilience of local populations
and link relief with development.
Agriculture is a key factor in establishing long-term peace
and stability in the region. Adequate rainfall between October
and December 2011, coupled with agricultural and humanitarian
interventions, allowed farmers to produce and buy more food. As
part of this emergency response and with support from the U.S.,
the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
distributed seeds and fertilizer to Somali farmers.
This mixture of agriculture and humanitarian intervention
has contributed to a significant reduction in local cereal
prices in most of the vulnerable areas in the south, improving
purchasing power for poor households.
Last week, the United Nations lifted the famine
declaration, but a severe humanitarian crisis persists. Despite
favorable rains and successful interventions, 31 percent of the
Somali population remains in crisis.
Thank you very much. I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Ms. Buerkle?
Ms. Buerkle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to
commend your leadership and the entire committee's bipartisan
effort to promote humanitarian efforts. And I look forward to
this getting to the House floor and having bipartisan support.
I thank you.
Mr. Smith. I want to thank Ms. Buerkle. I want to thank Ms.
Bass. I want to thank staffs on both sides of the aisle for
their expertise and cooperation in working on these bills.
Thank you.
Without objection, the hearing is adjourned. And I thank
you again for your attendance and for your support.
[Whereupon, at 2:50 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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