Ed Royce: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me begin by quoting Thomas Jefferson. He said, ``In our early struggles…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me begin by quoting Thomas Jefferson. He said, ``In our early struggles for liberty, religious freedom could not fail to become a primary object.'' Jefferson was a very smart man, and he understood that the core foundation of democracy relied on individual differences and opinions without fear of intimidation. This concept is one that we, as Americans, have benefited from since our founding. Religious freedom has played an integral part of our continued success as a country. Very sadly, this is a freedom that so many countries like Turkey still struggle to realize. Today we are considering House Resolution 306, which I authored with Ranking Member Howard Berman, urging the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and to return confiscated church properties to their rightful owners. Unfortunately, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has had to put Turkey on its watch list for 3 straight years now. The commission reports that the Turkish Government's formal, longstanding efforts to control religion by imposing suffocating regulations and by denying full legal status to religious institutions results in serious religious freedom violations. The government has failed to take decisive action to correct the climate of impunity against religious minorities and to make the necessary institutional reforms to reverse these conditions. Now, those are the words of the commission, itself, on this subject.…”