On the recordOctober 6, 2015
I do not have any more speakers, so I yield myself the balance of my time. First, again, I want to thank our chairman, Ed Royce, and our ranking member Eliot Engel for, once again, the bipartisan way in which the work of the Foreign Affairs Committee is conducted, evidenced again today with strong bipartisan support for this bill. I also want to acknowledge the great leadership of Congressman Smith, who has worked in this area for a very long time. Mr. Speaker, my home State, Rhode Island, was founded by Roger Williams, searching for a place that respects religious freedom. Rhode Island is home to the oldest synagogue in America, the Touro Synagogue, where President Washington famously wrote to the Hebrew congregation at Touro Synagogue to reassure them that this new, young Nation will be a place that respects religious freedom of all its citizens. It is this Commission that continues to promote that work around the world, to ensure that religious freedom is respected everywhere in the world. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
