Anna Eshoo: “I want to begin by thanking the ranking member. I also want to thank the chairman of the committee, and most especially…”

“I want to begin by thanking the ranking member. I also want to thank the chairman of the committee, and most especially my colleague and friend, Congressman Wolf. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 301, a bill that will create a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. This legislation responds, as has been said so eloquently by those that spoke before me, to the urgent needs of Christians and other religious minorities who are really under siege in the Middle East precisely because they are Christians and because they are minorities. In light of the ongoing events in Syria, this legislation could not be more timely. I commend Representative Frank Wolf, whom I have worked closely with as cochair of the Religious Minorities Caucus, for his partnership in this effort. Most importantly, I thank him for his conscience. We first introduced this legislation in 2011 after Congressman Wolf chaired a hearing to review the violence and the hardship faced by Middle Eastern religious minorities. I testified that day about the plight of who I am descended from, the Assyrians--the world's oldest Christians who have fled and continue to flee Iraq. We agreed to press forward with this legislation to create a Special Envoy at the State Department, the ambassador level, to elevate this issue for the attention that it deserves.…”