Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 390, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017. In March of 2016, Congress declared in unequivocal terms that the persecution of Christians, Yezidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria by ISIS constituted genocide. This was a seminal moment in the U.S. Congress because it's only the third time in history that Congress has declared a genocide. Unfortunately, the conditions for the tens of thousands of survivors of these crimes against humanity grow worse each day. Mr. Speaker, we are witnessing the systematic extermination of Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities at the hands of ISIS. And despite the fact that Congress has appropriated over $1 billion in humanitarian aid to help these communities in Fiscal Year 2017, the money has not reached survivors because the only organizations focused solely on aiding survivors are religious groups, which the State Department will not provide assistance to. For example, the Archdiocese of Erbil is currently providing food, housing, and medical care to more than 70,000 Christians who escaped death at the hands of ISIS. Even though the Archdiocese of Erbil is providing assistance to survivors at the center of this crisis, the State Department will not distribute U.S. assistance through religious organizations. H.R. 390 would resolve this ongoing problem.…”