WASHINGTON — The co-authors of a House bill that will provide humanitarian
aid to Christians and other religious groups suffering at the hands of Islamic
State militants praised the June 6 House passage of the measure and urged the
Senate to quickly act on it.
The House unanimously approved the bipartisan Iraq and Syria
Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act, or H.R. 390, in a voice vote.
Co-authored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and Rep. Anna
Eshoo, D-California, the bill will provide emergency relief and aid to the
victims of genocide in Iraq and Syria, particularly the Christians in the
Middle East as well as other religious minorities.
The humanitarian aid will be directed to groups such as the
Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Irbil, Iraq, which provides direct care for
victims, and those groups in turn get the assistance to those in need.
Smith and Eshoo held a news conference June 7 urging the Senate
to continue the progress of this legislation to ensure the swift direction of
funds to the Middle East.
"We are celebrating something today that we believe is
something that is going to make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands
of people who have been persecuted by ISIS," Eshoo said. "Certainly
the Christians, those of my own background, the Yezidis, and other minorities in
the Middle East."
Since 2013, Smith has actively worked through hearings and
mission trips to spread awareness of the situation of the victims of ISIS in
the Middle East. Part of the effort was to get the United States to admit that
what was occurring was genocide.
"As I think many of you know, Congress has been trying for
the better part of three years to finally get a designation of genocide being
committed by ISIS against Christians, Yezidis and some other Muslim minorities
in the area," Smith said. "Ultimately, it did become a policy of the
United States of America."
When then-Secretary of State John Kerry issued a declaration of
genocide about ISIS in March 2016, it was one of the few times in the nation's
history that the U.S. government had made such a determination. Eshoo said the
declaration requires further legislation that will confirm what the victims
have endured.
"They too, like people in our country, want their lives to
go on, especially for their children," Eshoo said. "The State
Department would not allow any U.S. dollars to flow to church organizations and
this legislation allows for that."
In addition to sending humanitarian aid for groups in Iraq and
Syria to provide to genocide victims, the bill also ensures that the
government's money will be monitored.
"There will be accountability for these dollars," Eshoo
said. "But it is so essential to work with those who are on the ground
that know exactly where the dollars should go."
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, the CEO of the Knights of Columbus,
has worked with Smith to get support of the bill and has testified on behalf of
the measure.
"We must have the courage to confront reality and then we
must have the courage to change reality," Anderson said.
The Knights of Columbus has donated over $12 million to groups in
the Middle East aiding Christian refugees. In addition, they recently began an
ad campaign in an effort to raise more funds.
"These are people who are still praying in the language of
Jesus," Anderson said. "They have every right to survive."
Chaldean Catholic Bishop Bawai A. Soro, who heads the Diocese of
St. Peter the Apostle, which is based near San Diego, also attended the news
conference. He said the current situation for Christians in the Middle East
remains fragile, as they suffer at the hands of radical Islamic groups.
"It is very unfortunate that Iraq as a country still lacks
the certain constitutional amendments that guarantee liberty and equality to
all Iraqis," Bishop Soro said. "It remains our dream that the Christians
will not be second-class citizens in their own native homeland, Iraq. But
instead, they will hopefully soon have equal social, economic, political, lives
and statuses just as all Iraqis have."
Haider Elias, president of the human rights group Yazda, whose
own brother and other relatives were killed by ISIS, spoke to the critical
aspect of the bill.
"As this legislation has been passed by the House, we urge
the Senate to act upon it and expedite it as quickly as possible," Elias
said. "These Yezidis and Christians are in dire need for such assistance
in order to survive as religious minorities in our region."
Smith said that they have contacted several representatives in
the Senate who they believe will offer similar support to the bill. He said he
hopes they will vote within the next couple of weeks.
"I think it’s very important that the Senate moves quickly —
within weeks," Smith said. "There's no reason for delay on this. It’s
not a complicated bill."