Chris Smith: “I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 514 will raise the status of the J/TIP Office to that of a bureau…”

“I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 514 will raise the status of the J/TIP Office to that of a bureau, ensuring that the leadership of J/TIP is present and has an equal voice at meetings with the other bureaus and the Secretary of State. Former colleague, John Miller, an Ambassador at Large from 2002 to 2006 said: Upgrading the status of the Office to a bureau will not create additional bureaucracy--it will simply give J/TIP and the Ambassador at Large who heads it equal standing with regional and functional bureaus at the State Department. That standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain a priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are engaged. We are not authorizing the J/TIP Office to be larger, but for the excellent work of the Office to be consistently heard at a higher level. In addition, the bill stops countries and other State Department bureaus from gaming the tier ranking system by limiting the time problem countries can use promises of action to avoid a tier downgrade. Currently, a country can sit on the Tier 2 Watch List for up to 4 years with Presidential waivers, effectively stringing the U.S. along with promises to take action, but never actually taking action. After 4 years, by law, the country must be automatically downgraded to Tier 3.…”