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CONGRESSMAN BISHOP FIGHTS TO #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS

November 18, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) fights to bring back the 219 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram by co-sponsoring H.R. 3833, a bill requiring the United States to develop a strategy to defeat Boko Haram. Introduced by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24), the bill directs the Secretaries of State and Defense to develop a 5-year strategy to assist the multinational task force in defeating Boko Haram and to rebuild the region's infrastructure to prevent the rise of another terrorist organization.

"It is an atrocity that the 219 Chibok schoolgirls have still not been returned home safely a year and a half after their abduction by Boko Haram," said Congressman Bishop. "The United States must fight Boko Haram not only for their egregious violations of human rights, but for the security of the region and the world as a whole."

Boko Haram, an ISIS-linked group, is responsible for using kidnapped girls as young as 10 as suicide bombers, the displacement of 2.2 million Nigerians, and the deaths of 15,000 people in the region since 2009.

H.R. 3833 directs the Secretaries of State and Defense to develop a joint 5-year strategy that would assist the Nigerian government, Members of the Multinational Joint Task Force to Combat Boko Haram, and other international partners in countering the regional threat of Boko Haram. The strategy should also help the Nigerian and neighboring governments with their efforts to address the complaints of vulnerable populations in areas affected by Boko Haram.

To read a summary of the bill, click here. To read the text of the bill, click here.