Jeremiah Smith: “This amendment proposes a number of commonsense additions. These all amend the section of the bill that creates a…”

“This amendment proposes a number of commonsense additions. These all amend the section of the bill that creates a commission which is to monitor and report on Chinese activities. The six subjects I am urging we include are very reasonable. I am amazed, really, they have not already been included in the commission's reporting responsibilities. Let me just list and give a brief line or two on each one. The first division or item is monitoring and reporting on Chinese cooperation on POW and MIA issues. We all know that the Chinese Government possesses information about Americans who are missing from the Korean war--and perhaps even the Vietnam war, but certainly the Korean war; maybe World War II--which could bring closure to literally thousands of families. Yet this Government, the Chinese Government, has refused to provide us even basic information. In fact, it denies it even possesses this information when we know they do. So this amendment would merely let the American people know in an objective manner on this commission the extent to which the Chinese are not cooperating on this humanitarian issue.”