In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced this bill to reauthorize programs promoting human rights in North Korea:

“Under Kim Jong Un’s brutal regime, North Koreans continue to be exploited and trafficked in the regime’s harsh labor system while dissidents are sent to work camps and subjected to starvation and torture. Without rule of law, justice, or freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly, North Koreans live in constant fear of arrest, disappearance, and execution. As the Kim regime’s dangerous behavior increases, it is also essential that we promote North Korean human rights as an integral part of addressing the North Korean security threat. Instead of seeking to promote the well-being of its citizens, the regime in Pyongyang pours all of its available resources into illicit activity like its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.”

Lead cosponsor Eliot Engel (D-NY) added:

“The Kim Regime in North Korea gives us no shortage of concerns, from its pursuit of illegal nuclear and conventional weapons, including ballistic missiles, to the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in a major regional airport. But we should never lose sight of another major problem: the Kim regime’s crimes against the rights and dignity of their own people. The people of North Korea have suffered immeasurably under the oppression of the Kim family. This measure, which authorizes support for North Korean refugees, would send a signal to all the people of North Korea that we see their suffering and our doors are open.”

This legislation passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee on a voice vote, and has the support of 14 bipartisan cosponsors including eight Democrats and six Republicans.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate
  
• Sunshine State News