Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, has sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden asking him to restore and repair relations between the United States and Cuba. Full Text of Letter Here (PDF) McGovern has been a longtime advocate of normalizing relations with Cuba. He Traveled to Cuba with President Obama in March 2016 and with Secretary Kerry in August 2015. He has introduced legi... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman James P. McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, issued this statement following the Trump administration’s decision to name Cuba a state sponsor of terror: “In yet another stupid and self-defeating move, Donald Trump has, without basis, designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Coming less than a week after a failed coup attempt at the hands of his own domestic terrorists, Donald Trump’s... Read More »

Request Acting Sec. of Defense and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff refrain from acknowledging any Trump orders to use nuclear weapons or unlawfully take military action Read More »

Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, issued this statement about the 2021 NDAA conference report requiring a report to Congress on allegations that DOD-provided assistance was used by the Colombian armed forces to conduct unlawful intelligence gathering: "I am pleased that the 2021 NDAA conference report requires the Department of Defense to submit a report to Congress on allegations that DOD-provided assistance was used by the Colombian arm... Read More »

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman James P. McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, and Congressman Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement: “We condemn the recently announced steps by the Treasury Department that will result in an effective halt to remittances to Cuba. The Treasury Department’s decision to prohibit U.S. remittance senders from using the most widely used financial intermediary in Cuba will disrupt remittance flows to ... Read More »

WASHINGTON – Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to impose sanctions on two leading officials of the International Criminal Court: “Today the Trump Administration has once again undermined American leadership on human rights and isolated our country on the world stage. The decision to sanction the chief prose... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights at home and abroad, released his rebuttal to the draft report of the Trump administration’s Commission on Unalienable Rights. The congressman’s submission was joined by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee. “The Commission’s draft report is radically incomplete and thoroughly inadequate as a guide to... Read More »

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has passed, as part of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment which requires the release of Department of Defense documents related to the 1981 El Mozote massacre to judicial authorities in El Salvador. The amendment was introduced by Jim McGovern (D-MA), who serves as Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, as well as Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committe... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights at home and abroad, has called on the government of Bahrain to free Mohamed Ramadan and Hussein Moosa. The two men were convicted and sentenced to death in 2014 on terrorism charges, despite stating they were tortured and sexually assaulted to force a confession. “Mohamed Ramadan and Hussein Moosa were tortured and that means their conv... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and Mark Pocan (D-WI), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led a group of 94 Members of Congress urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to press the Colombian government to commit to peace and stop the escalation of violence against Colombian human rights defenders. Since a 2016 peace accord brought an end to decades of con... Read More »