Jim’s interest in foreign affairs began in earnest in the late 1960s when he served in the U.S. Navy as a psychiatrist and treated soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. In 1987, Jim served as a U.S. Foreign Service Medical Officer in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), where he provided psychiatric services to Foreign Service, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. Jim’s experience in developing countries has informed his views on the critical role that the U.S. government plays in helping countries lift themselves out of poverty and building global coalitions to address worldwide challenges.
In the U.S. House, Jim has been a resolute voice in international affairs, championing legislation to elevate the most vulnerable countries from poverty through trade promotion; to protect human rights in conflict areas; to oversee U.S. warfare activities abroad, particularly the use of enhanced interrogation; and, to support a robust foreign assistance budget (Seattle Times op-ed).
Africa
After serving as a U.S. Foreign Service Medical Officer in
1987 and having since traveled throughout Africa
on a number of occasions, Jim understands the need to help Sub-Saharan Africans
help themselves. Jim was the principle author of the “Africa Growth and
Opportunity Act,” which serves as our country’s trade arrangement with Africa
and helps African nations build their economies. Jim is also the principal
author of the “Conflict Minerals Trade Act” – legislation that is now law and
requires transparency and good governance over the sourcing of minerals in Central Africa.
Jim understands that the job isn’t done yet – Africa needs more technical trade assistance, more support for democratic institutions, and more help with its public health systems, and he is committed to supporting initiatives that will help Africa in each of these areas.
Asia-Pacific
Jim’s longstanding interest in Asia
stems from his work with constituents of the 7th District, many of whom belong
to the Asian-Pacific Islander (API) community. Jim’s district is home to
the largest Filipino-American community in the country, and he has supported
the establishment of community organizations that serve the needs of the API
community. Organizations such as Seattle-Surabaya Sister City Association, which was established in 1992, serve to connect the people of Seattle to countries in Asia.
Over the years, Jim has sponsored several pieces of legislation in support of
the API community and he has led many important programs, such as the
U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchange Program.
Jim is currently a co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Japan, co-chair of the U.S.-Japan-South Korea
Legislative Exchange Program run by George
Washington University,
and a leading member of the Congressional Japan Caucus. Jim was an early
supporter of H.Res.172 which called for assistance to the people of Japan after the
devastating earthquake and tsunamis of March 11, 2011. As Ranking Member
of the House Ways
and Means Committee’s Trade subcommittee, Jim continues to contribute expertise
on Asia to better understanding in the House
about the region’s political and economic significance. In April 2011, Jimvisited South Korea on a Congressional Delegation with Secretary of Commerce
Gary Locke to discuss
the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Latin America
Jim’s interest in human rights has guided his work in
Congress, and he has been particularly active in human rights issues in Latin America. In 1990, at the height of the
country’s brutal civil war, Jim led a congressional delegation to El Salvador to promote the safety of medical
workers in the country and to assess whether the United States should continue its
military assistance to the country. The following year, Jim introduced
the “Peace,
Democracy and Development in El Salvador Act,” which called for an
end to U.S. military aid to El Salvador and called for preservation of
internationally recognized norms of medical neutrality. In July 2011, Jim
introduced the “Medical
Neutrality Protection Act of 2011” in response to
attacks against doctors and medical professionals in foreign countries.
In May, 2011, Jim joined 86 other Members in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing concern about protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and the rule of law in Honduras.
Wars
More than ten years after the September 11th attacks,
the United States has spent trillions of dollars in an effort to fight al-Qaeda
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. More than 4,400 American troops have
died in Iraq, and at least
1,500 U.S. service members
have died in Afghanistan.
Jim was one of the most vocal opponents of the U.S.
invasion of Iraq
undertaken by President George W. Bush. Long before the American public
learned that the Bush Administration had deliberately misrepresented the
intelligence and the threat from Iraq,
Jim correctly argued that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and no
justification for war against that country.
Jim supports a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. In July 2010, Jim voted against the Defense Department’s $59 billion emergency supplemental war-funding bill, which supported deployment of an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Jim is an original cosponsor of several key pieces of legislation on Afghanistan, including the “Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act” (H.R. 780) and the “U.S.-Afghanistan Status of Forces Agreement” (H.R. 651). In May 2011, Jim voted in support of the McGovern/Jones amendment on Afghanistan to the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act; the amendment provided a higher level of accountability on the status of the war and curtailed funding of the war. It nearly passed in the House.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Among international challenges for U.S. foreign
policy, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an especially difficult dispute. Jim
has worked hard to become well-informed about this situation, traveling to the
region many times in an ongoing effort to better understand its deep
complexities. Jim embraces the
universally shared quest for self-determination, which inspired pro-democracy
uprisings throughout the Middle East in early 2011. He is committed to Israel’s
ongoing success as a thriving democracy and understands that peace and security
for all parties is critical to resolving this long-standing conflict. Jim was
an early supporter of President Obama’s vision of a two-state solution. His
statement of support can be found by clicking
here. In January 2010, Jim led the letter, known as “The Gaza 54,” in
which 54 Members of Congress called on President Obama to press for immediate relief
for the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.
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