Human Rights

Legislative Leadership in Congress Supporting International Human Rights

Co-founded the bipartisan Victims of Communism Caucus in November 2017 to commemorate the 100 million victims who perished under communist regimes in the 20th century, to illuminate the impacts of communist legacy on former captive nations, and to resist current communist regimes still present in the world today.

Co-chaired the bipartisan Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus

Authored H.Res.679, Expressing support for designation of November 7 as annual “Victims of Communism Memorial Day” 

Helped introduce and pass H.Res. 296 to officially recognize and remember the Armenian genocide.

Helped introduce and pass H.Con.Res. 75 to affirm that ISIL committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria.

Helped introduce the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018 which became law in December 2018.  Authorized humanitarian aid for ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, particularly those at risk of persecution and war crimes, and directing the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development to assist in prosecuting those who commit crimes.

Cosponsored H.Res. 259 which would prioritize a policy of working with international partners to support a safe return of displaced religious minorities, who fled from genocide under ISIS, to their ancestral homelands in the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar.

Helped introduce H.Res. 49 urging the Egyptian government to make serious reforms to ensure Coptic Christians are given the same rights and opportunities as all other Egyptian citizens.

Cosponsored and helped pass H.Res. 343 to express concern about persistent reports of systematic organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience, including religious and ethnic minorities, in the People’s Republic of China.

Cosponsored and helped pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to impose restrictions on imports from the Xinjiang region and sanction those responsible for human rights violations there.

Introduced the bipartisan H.Res. 986 to commemorate the Katyn Forest Massacre, describe how this crime fits into a larger pattern of Communist governments around the world persecuting their citizens and denying people freedom, condemn Russia for denial, and encouraging education about the atrocity.

Co-sponsored and helped pass H.Res.1033, to condemn acts by the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that violate fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents as well as acts that undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy.