House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Agenda
Chairman Royce on the hearing: “Over the past year, the United States has been challenged by ever more crises that threaten international stability and our national security. The U.S. must have a clear strategy that is backed by the efficient and effective use of our resources. As we’ve seen, a foreign policy that is always reactive is a failure in leadership. This hearing will provide Committee Members with an opportunity to press Secretary Kerry for an explanation of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy spending priorities for the next year.”
Agenda:
A hearing that will examine the U.S. national security implications of the President’s Cuba policy change and potential vulnerabilities to Americans as a result.
Witnesses:
Mr. Chris Simmons
Editor
Cuba Confidential
Mr. Fernando Menéndez
Senior Fellow
Center for a Secure Free Society
José Azel, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies
University of Miami
The Honorable Dennis K. Hays
Director
The Emergence Group
Agenda:
A House Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding Human Rights in Cuba.
Witnesses:
Chairman Smith on the hearing: “Nigeria is an important African nation, not just for that region, but also for the international community as a whole. This major oil producer, which is also Africa’s most populous nation, is facing a variety of crises, including an increasingly vicious war against Boko Haram, the threat of post-election violence following the upcoming presidential election next month, ongoing inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflict and an economy suffering from drastically reduced revenue due to falling oil prices. This comes at a time when U.S.-Nigeria relations are said to be at a low point. This hearing will examine Nigeria’s challenges and what the U.S. government should do to get our relations with Nigeria, especially involving security cooperation, back on track.”
WITNESSES:
Panel I
The Honorable Robert P. Jackson
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Panel II
J. Peter Pham, Ph.D.
Director
Africa Center
Atlantic Council
Mr. Jadegoke Adebonajo Badejo
Principal Partner
Bonajo Badejo & Co.
Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe
Manager
Justice for Jos Project
Jubilee Campaign USA
Chris Fomunyoh, Ph.D.
Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and West Africa
National Democratic Institute
Chairman Royce on the hearing: "It has been six months since the fall of Mosul, and ISIS continues to control roughly the same amount of territory in Iraq and Syria. The countries in this region are being dangerously destabilized as millions of people have been displaced and thousands of others slaughtered by this terrorist army. Meanwhile, ISIS has recruited thousands of foreign fighters and encourages sympathizers to carry-out attacks across the globe, including against civilians and military personnel here in the U.S.
“This hearing will provide Committee members an opportunity to question the Obama Administration on the progress of the anti-ISIS effort, including the coalition air campaign, support of U.S. partners on the ground, policies toward hostile regimes, as well as the Administration's plans to deal with a worsening humanitarian disaster across the region."
WITNESSES:
The Honorable Robert Bradtke
Senior Advisor for Partner Engagement on Syria Foreign Fighters
U.S. Department of State
Mr. Tom Warrick
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Chairman Salmon on the hearing: “In the past 12 months, over 66,000 Unaccompanied Alien Children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have left their home countries to embark on a dangerous trek to the southern border of the United States..."