Yesterday I posted a quick diary about Nancy Pelosi heading a congressional delegation on a trip to Nepal and today I learn who was in the party with her. I found a press release from Congressman Jim McGovern that listed the others accompanying Mrs. Pelosi. I need some help — can somebody from each district below share some info as to how their representative was chosen (or decided...) to join this?
Joining Congressman McGovern and Leader Pelosi on the delegation are:
- Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Foreign Affairs Committee, Judiciary Committee
- Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee; Energy and Commerce Committee
- Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Appropriations Committee
- Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Ways and Means Committee; Small Business Committee
- Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Financial Services Committee
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Vice Ranking Member, Budget Committee; Judiciary Committee
I looked up a couple of these Representatives and I see the common thread is a long interest in Human Rights Issues related to South Asia. (Nepal and India share a border that is considered to be the most porous for human trafficking of any in the world. There are more people working on the human trafficking issue than there used to be).
Diplomacy by Congress
I am happy to see the bipartisan nature of the trip, and though Mrs. Pelosi is the leader of this delegation, she is accompanied by others who are articulate in espousing values of Human Rights. Nepal is a gathering point for expatriate Tibetans, and in fact during the Cold War the CIA worked with the Tibetan exiles to spy on China after they annexed Tibet. I see that Congressman McGovern made a statement on the current situation in Tibet as recently as may 2nd.
In today’s speech, Congressman McGovern called for Congress to pass H.R. 1872, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, a bipartisan bill he introduced in April in the House with Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL). A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). The bill promotes access to Tibetan areas by authorizing the U.S. government to deny Chinese government officials access to the United States if they are responsible for creating or implementing restrictions on the travel of American government officials, journalists, and tourists in Tibet.
Congressman McGovern said: “We need to rethink U.S. policy toward Tibet. For years, China has faced no consequences for its failure to respect the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people. I constantly receive reports from Tibet of human rights abuses and affronts to basic human dignity. This must change. If China wants its citizens and officials to travel freely in the U.S., Americans must be able to travel freely in China, including Tibet.”
Help me fill in the puzzle. Any such trip has several purposes. First, to experience things first hand in a way that will inform future decision-making by Congress; next, to reach out to foreign leaders and influential persons; next to make a statement to the folks back home. The messaging here seems to be directed at foreign listeners.
Mrs. Pelosi echoed the call for a review of policy toward China visavis the Tibetan situation:
Kathmandu, Nepal – U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan Congressional delegation has arrived in Nepal as part of a visit to the country to discuss bilateral relations, regional security and stability, economic growth and trade, and human rights. The visit began with the delegation’s meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kama Dahal, Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, and Parliamentary Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar.
“Visiting at this time, we benefitted from learning more about Nepal’s commitment to advancing democracy as we approach the elections next week," said Leader Pelosi. “Our primary purpose here is to discuss regional security issues, and also economic issues and the commitment to human rights. In our meetings, the delegation raised the wellbeing of the thousands of Tibetans who have been living in Nepal for decades as well as the rights of other minorities.”
“There are a lot of disagreements between the parties in Congress, but support for Nepal is not one of them," said Congressman Sensenbrenner who is co-leading the bipartisan delegation. "This delegation shows there is bipartisan support for Nepal in the Congress and for the continued steps toward democracy that are being taken here."
“Our delegation complimented the Nepalese for their cooperation with the Millenium Challenge Corporation,” Leader Pelosi said. “In the wake of the massive 2015 earthquake, we also learned about the recovery efforts, including those being spearheaded by the United States.” pelosi.house.gov/...
A Minor point: Mrs. Pelosi’s staff misspelled the last name of the US Ambassador to Nepal, it’s Teplitz not Tepelitz.
In the meantime, I think it’s great that there would actually be something happening that is bipartisan. We need to engage with the world.