First Responders Passport Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) for yielding, and I rise today in support of H.R. 2229, the First Responders Passport Act, legislation I introduced along with Congressman Boyle to exempt first responders operating on behalf of the U.S. Government from passport fees. This legislation is especially timely as we just witnessed Hurricane Dorian's destruction in the Bahamas.

Currently, USAID contracts with first responders to deploy them abroad for natural disasters, like Hurricane Dorian. For example, every 5 years, USAID awards contracts to local fire departments that have highly trained, internationally certified urban search and rescue teams, allowing USAID to have these specialists on call. A team of these first responders deployed to the Bahamas as part of our recent relief efforts there.

To arrive at disaster zones in time, these teams are required to be able to deploy the day a disaster strikes. Consequently, they must maintain an active passport while they are under contract.

Unfortunately, volunteers or other members of these teams that are not deployed by a local or State government have to do so at their own expense, even though they could potentially be traveling on government business. My legislation allows the Secretary of State to waive passport fees for them and other similarly situated individuals.

Brave first responders sacrifice time away from their families to go to disaster zones on behalf of the U.S. Government and represent our Nation to people who have lost everything. As part of an official U.S. response, the Federal Government ought to cover the first responders' costs.

That is why I am pleased that we have been able to work in a bipartisan manner, Democrats and Republicans working together to bring this legislation to the House floor, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I now turn to the BURMA Act, legislation that Chairman Engel and I introduced to sanction the Burmese military for its gross human rights violations against the Rohingya.

This legislation has already passed the House twice as part of this year's and last year's NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act. I am pleased that we can consider it by itself today.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, the Burmese military drove over 700,000 Rohingya, many of them children, out of Rakhine State and into Bangladesh. This brutal, systematic, premeditated campaign inflicted unspeakable horrors on the Rohingya, including barbaric killings, gang rapes, and the burning of hundreds and hundreds of villages.

As a clearer picture emerged over time, the mounting evidence led the House to pass legislation that I authored to call these atrocities what they were--genocide.

It is extremely frustrating that, after 2 years, the Burmese military has faced very few consequences for these crimes.

That is why we must pass the BURMA Act today. It would provide needed tools to ensure greater accountability on the Burmese military for these atrocities.

Lastly, I would like to address any concern that if we, the United States, stand up for human rights in Asia, dictators will go scurrying, go running to China. This entirely misses the point.

Our competition with China is over whose values will shape the world. If we have to look the other way on genocide, China has already won.

It is well past time that the BURMA Act became law, either this version or the version that this House passed under the NDAA. Either version is very good.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support them, and we hope that it is done in a very timely manner. I support passage of this legislation.

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