Mike Collins: “I would like to start by looking at headlines. All you have got to do is just read the headlines that are blaring at us…”

“I would like to start by looking at headlines. All you have got to do is just read the headlines that are blaring at us, coming at us in print, over our Internet, and others. They say things like: ``Five children among 94 crucified, flogged, and caged by ISIS for eating during Ramadan''; ``Hundreds Killed in Nigeria Anti-Christian Violence''; ``ISIS Plants Land Mines in Christian Civilian Homes, Ancient Ruins Across Iraq, Syria.'' If we have the stomach for it that particular day, we may read the article that follows. We might say a prayer or silently wonder at the brazen face of evil. But ultimately, we go on with our lives. We do not fear for our personal safety or that of our families because of systemic religious violence. Yet millions of our brothers and sisters around the world do not have the luxury of walking away from real religious persecution. They don't read the news stories; they live them day in and day out. They have watched family members die. They have had friends simply vanish into thin air, never to be heard from again. Their homes and businesses are seized by the government. Even as they place their hope in eternity, they fear for their future here on Earth. Today, my colleagues and I come to the House floor to tell our stories. We come because this body and this administration have a responsibility to use our position to promote religious liberty around the world.…”