Press Release
***House Committee Finishes Work on Senate Foreign Policy bill***Three Smith Amendments Approved and Advanced to House FloorFor the first time in nearly a decade, U.S. foreign policy lawmakers are cautiously optimistic that legislation directing State Department actions and influencing State Department policy will be passed by Congress and sent to the President’s desk. “Passage of this legislation allows this Committee to get back into the business of shaping more foreign policy and guiding the State Department,” said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs at today’s legislative mark-up of S. 1635, the Department of State Operations Authorization and Embassy Security Act, Fiscal Year 2016. “I am pleased that the base bill also includes three key amendments I offered to strengthen whistleblower protection policies; to push the State Department to work harder at extraditing serious criminals who have escaped the U.S. to enjoy safe harbor in other countries; and to call on the Secretary of State to ensure coverage and access to evidence based interventions for children of Foreign Service officers who have autism,” Smith said. Smith’s autism amendment is supported by Autism Speaks and the Autism Society, two leading advocacy groups who, along with Smith, have noted gaps in coverage, the lack of real access to treatments for State Department dependents with autism, whose treatment options are limited due to deployment overseas. “I have met several foreign service officers, working for us overseas whose children with autism don’t have access to evidence based therapeutic treatments they need. It is time the State Department ensures availability to the most effective therapies to help these children reach their full potential,” said Smith, co-founder of the Congressional Autism Caucus and author of three major autism laws to boost research funding, services and support for families impacted by autism. A powerful advocate for human rights in the Congress, Smith said the State Department must also do more to bring international fugitives to justice in the United States. The New Jersey Republican cited the example of a killer named George Wright who was convicted of murder of Walter Patterson, a WWII decorated veteran from Smith’s district. Wright escaped from prison in 1970, hijacked a plane bound for Miami in 1972 and disappeared in Algeria. In 2012 the convicted murder resurfaced in Portugal. “Members of the Patterson family have testified before our committee and they are rightfully shocked that a Portuguese court rejected the United States’ extradition request and that little has been done on the case since. My amendment underscores Congressional expectation that the State Department reprioritize the return of fugitives and do a better job securing justice for American victims and their surviving family members,” he said. Smith’s whistleblower protection amendment ensures provisions in the base text of the bill will be extended to those who have come forward with information on illicit technology transfers to rogue states such as North Korea and Iran. “Some UN employees may have already been retaliated against by the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO and its Director General for the courageous actions they have taken in uncovering serious security breaches and corruption at the organization. All UN whistleblowers need our support and protection,” he said. The current chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, Smith is the author of the landmark Embassy Security Act and 2000-2001 foreign relations authorization bill (Public Law 106-113; appendix G) and two State Department authorities’ laws (the 2007 PL 109-472 and the 2005 PL 109-140)—all of which provided Congress a greater say in U.S. foreign policy during the Clinton and Bush 43 administrations. “Especially in these times, Congress—indeed our committee—must do more to give direction and fill in the leadership gaps created by a weak and feckless Obama Administration,” he said. |