War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act

Floor Speech

I rise today in support of the War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act.

Sadly, we live in a world where crimes against humanity still occur. We have seen three declared genocides in just the last 20 years: in Darfur in 2004, by ISIS in 2016, and the one in Xinjiang that was formally declared by Secretary Mike Pompeo before he left office earlier this year.

We have, of course, also seen the horrific ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya in Burma. We have seen atrocities committed by Assad against his own people in Syria.

But bringing the criminals behind these massacres to justice can be difficult. That is why, 35 years ago, we enacted the State Department rewards program. It authorizes the Secretary of State to offer rewards for the arrest or conviction of some of the most dangerous people in the world.

Originally written to be used against international terrorists, this successful program has since been expanded to include drug traffickers, war criminals, and perpetrators of genocide.

As the world changes and as international criminals evolve, we need to make sure this important program evolves with them.

That is why I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act. This bill makes clear that these rewards are not just meant to support international tribunals. They can also be used to bring these dangerous criminals to justice here in the United States under United States law.

I want to thank the author of the bill, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Dr. Virginia Foxx, for her work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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