Ed Royce

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying legislation of this H.R. 2357. It encompasses, by the way, H.R. 4850, and this is the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act. What I will share with my colleagues is that California is the innovation capital of the world. From Silicon Valley to Orange County, technology startups are reimagining the way that the world works, and these new companies don't have thousands of people on payroll. They don't need dozens of floors of office space. They don't need billions of dollars to function, but they do need capital. They need that capital to operate. Our current regulatory framework creates impediments to these small businesses tapping into the market. According to the Federal Reserve, the startup rate has fallen sharply over the past 30 years. It was 14 percent of total companies in a given year, but today it is down to 8 percent. The likelihood of a young firm being a high-growth firm has also declined over the years, and these trends are alarming, if you think about the consequences. These trends need to be reversed. The Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act turns the tide by lowering compliance burdens for firms seeking low-dollar investments from a small group of investors that they have a relationship with. So the legislation appropriately scales the regulatory oversight of capital formation, while keeping intact investor protections. The resources that startups would sink into compliance and legal costs could be redirected--to what?--to hiring workers, redirected to creating new products. Uber, Google, and Airbnb, these were all startups. Passage of the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act ensures that the next success story will be told. I thank Mr. Emmer of Minnesota for his work on this important issue. I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the legislation.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). He is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just point out that as Kim Jong-Un continues to ratchet up his aggressive actions, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Korean and Japanese allies, and part of this also means being more proactive in implementing the North Korea sanctions law that was passed earlier this year. It is unacceptable that no Chinese companies have yet been sanctioned under the new law by the administration. We are working on that, but today this resolution before us sends a very strong signal that our trilateral partnership will remain a standard for security in the Asia Pacific. I urge all Members' support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart), a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 634) recognizing the importance of the United States-Republic of Korea-Japan trilateral relationship to counter North Korean threats and nuclear proliferation, and to ensure regional security and human rights.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2845) to promote access to benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank the cosponsors of the Digital GAP Act who helped me with this legislation, and the first among them is Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and then also Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Representative Grace Meng, and Chairman McCaul for their collaboration on this bill. The Digital GAP Act would increase Internet access with a relatively minor communications change. It would require that the United States- supported infrastructure projects are made transparent so that the private sector can coordinate their investments in Internet infrastructure. This is a commonsense approach that we should implement now. The Digital GAP Act also expresses the sense of Congress that the State Department should elevate and reform its efforts to address cyberspace policy internationally. As technological policy issues multiply and as they become more complex, it is important to identify clear lines of responsibility at the State Department so that problems do not fall between the cracks of the many different offices that touch on these issues now. Cybersecurity, Internet freedom, and Internet access are now core parts of our national security agenda and need to be treated as such by the State Department. Lastly, I will simply close by again recognizing the work of Nilmini Rubin on this legislation. She has been with the committee for over 3 years. She has done outstanding work on technology and trade and other issues promoting development worldwide. Nilmini will be leaving us and will be greatly missed, but she will be continuing to do impressive and important things, improving lives overseas and improving the welfare of Americans. Thank you, Nilmini. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5537) to promote internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy toward the internet, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as the author of this measure, I want to particularly recognize the invaluable contributions of the professional staff. I mentioned Jessica Kelch, but there is another staff member here who has played an outsized role to help shape the work of this committee, and not just on the Digital GAP Act, which is before us, but Nilmini Rubin has played a critical role in energy, in trade, in development legislation that we have passed out of the committee, and so I wanted to recognize her for that contribution. I also want to focus the attention of the Members on the fact that more than 60 percent of the world's population still lacks access to the Internet. That is 3 billion people left out of one of the largest technological transformations of our time, leaving them lagging on economic growth, lagging on health, lagging in terms of potential for education. The dearth of global Internet access negatively impacts us here at home, too. Sixty percent of the world's population can't buy American goods online, if you think about it. They are shut out of e-commerce. They are limited in their ability to connect with others through social media. So the Digital Global Access Policy Act calls on the administration to integrate into U.S. development efforts a ``build-once'' policy when expanding Internet access, and this is common sense. If a U.S. development project supports the construction of a rural road, let's invite the private sector to lay down cable before our government helps pay to pour the concrete. We are maximizing U.S. taxpayer dollar assistance; we are providing more support to the disadvantaged community; we are making it easier for business to invest if we change our policies to do this. This bill complements existing efforts to promote partnerships with the private sector to expand Internet access through the Global Connect Initiative. One of the many letters of support we received was from NetHope, which outlined why the build-once approach in the Digital GAP Act is so important. As NetHope's letter explained, years ago, a $100 million road construction project in Liberia failed to include the laying of fiber-optic lines as a part of the project. At the time, the cost of laying this cable would have been negligible. It would have been maybe 1 percent of the total investment. It would have been--I don't know-- probably not even a million. However, you know, if you look back, this is one example of many that we pulled out of the file where the donors chose not to include the Internet infrastructure in the project; and so, as a result, when you go to Liberia, as I have, there is poor Internet access, a fact that hampered Ebola response efforts as community health centers struggled to coordinate their efforts. If that Internet access were in place, it would have helped the U.S. and public health officials safely track the spread of Ebola. It could have reduced the disease's spread. It could have saved lives. As NetHope explained, there is now a new project under consideration to do that same connectivity work that would have cost--would have been negligible if it had been laid at the time that the road was put in. However, since it is being considered after the fact, it will now cost tens of millions of dollars if it is done, and it will take years and years to complete. The build-once approach is smart economics. It is smart development. We simply get more bang for our buck when we coordinate these types of infrastructure investments with the private sector. So I think the case is compelling for this. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4481) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for developing countries to promote quality basic education and to establish the goal of all children in school and learning as an objective of the United States foreign assistance policy, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, at the outset, let me thank our colleague, Nita Lowey, the author of this measure. I very much appreciate her and her team's good work on this bill. Also, Jessica Kelch, a staff member here on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I appreciate her efforts as well in making sure that this came to the floor. We all recognize the importance of education for economic growth. We know the impact that it has on social mobility. We know that the overall stability around the globe is partly dependent upon this, and as Congresswoman Nita Lowey would tell you, education raises the productivity of people. It empowers men, it empowers women to better care for themselves, better care for their families, and increases their civic participation. Even one extra year of schooling has been found to significantly increase a worker's earnings and their lifespan. But despite widespread agreement about the benefits of education, the fact remains that an alarming number of children worldwide are out of school. At present, over 120 million children around the globe have never attended or have dropped out of school. More than one-third of these children come from countries suffering from war and suffering from conflict. With many recent conflicts lasting well over a decade, it is easy to see how, tragically, we now have entire generations of children who are failing to receive even the most basic education. Certainly, this is a humanitarian crisis. But there are clear implications for global stability and our national security as well. What opportunities are available to children who remain out of school or leave school unable to read, write, or perform basic arithmetic? Sadly, we know these children face a greatly increased risk of abuse at the hands of traffickers, early marriage or forced marriage, and recruitment by criminal or terrorist organizations. Nowhere is this harsh reality more clear than in Syria, where an estimated 4 million Syrian children are currently out of school. Inside Syria, these children are being shaped by violence and a lack of alternatives that place them at a high risk of exploitation and of radicalization. As refugees, they are placing tremendous pressure on the education systems of countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey. That is why I rise today in support of H.R. 4481, the Education for All Act. This bill increases direction and accountability for U.S. efforts to impose access to basic education in developing and in conflict-torn countries. It requires the President to establish a strategy for, and report to Congress on, how the administration will work with other countries and donors on how to build that capacity and how to reduce duplication, how to measure progress, and how to replicate success in its basic education programming, especially for children affected by conflict and crisis. It also requires increased attention to some of the specific barriers to education that women and girls face. Lastly, the bill establishes a senior coordinator within the U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure accountability and oversight across all U.S. agencies that are involved in this work. So, again, I want to thank Representative Lowey for her continued bipartisan leadership on this issue, as well as my committee's ranking member, Mr. Engel, and the chair of our Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee, Mr. Smith, for their work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to close.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I, again, want to thank Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel. Today, more than 65 million men, women, and children around the globe have been displaced by conflict. This is the highest level of displacement on record--even more than during World War II. It is critical that we continue to work with other countries and partners to help address the massive education deficit that so many children now face and that our efforts be as efficient and effective as possible. The Education for All Act outlines clear priorities for this work, with an emphasis on sustainability and alignment with U.S. diplomatic development and national security interests. I urge Members to support this measure. Again, I thank my colleagues for working on a bipartisan basis on the provisions here. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 660) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to support the territorial integrity of Georgia.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, since it regained its independence back in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Empire at the time, Georgia has repeatedly proven that it is indeed a strong partner of the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to sever our connection in order to reestablish Russia's domination over Georgia. That is part of the problem here. Ever since he came to power in 2000, President Putin has pursued an aggressive policy toward Georgia that has included economic coercion, armed conflict, and occupation of the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This is similar to his ongoing campaign, frankly, against Ukraine where Russia has annexed Crimea outright. President Putin has these territorial ambitions in Georgia as well and is promoting separatist forces in Abkhazia and in South Ossetia with the ultimate goal of annexing those regions outright or in all but name. In fact, Russia has already formally recognized these two regions as independent countries. As part of that effort, Russia is using its enormous propaganda machine to convince the Georgian people that the U.S. and the west have abandoned them and that they have no option but to submit to Moscow and to submit to its imperial ambitions. This strategy will soon be put to the test. It is going to be put to the test in Georgia's parliamentary elections on October 8 because Moscow is hoping that its campaign of disinformation will convince the Georgian people that they are alone and helpless and that they must give up close ties with the west or they will face greater hardship. Our broadcasts through Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty should be an important counter to this harmful propaganda. By voting overwhelmingly for this resolution, the House will send a powerful message that will be heard, not only throughout Georgia, but in the Kremlin as well, and that message is the United States will not accept Russia's efforts to undermine Georgia's sovereignty and their territorial integrity and that we will always remain a strong partner of this embattled democracy and of the brave Georgian people. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material for the Record.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, and he is the author of this measure.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just close by acknowledging again and thanking Judge Poe, Chairman Poe, a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and author of this measure, for this resolution and for his focus to see that we collectively send a clear and powerful message to the people of Georgia and to President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. is and will remain a steadfast friend of this embattled democracy. I would also add that Judge Poe's resolution comes at a crucial time because the Kremlin is trying to convince the Georgian people that we have abandoned them and that they have no choice but to submit to Moscow. I think by passing this resolution we will send our own message. We will send a powerful message of support to the people of Georgia and ensure that, when the Georgians cast their vote in next month's parliamentary elections, they will do so confident that the American people will stand by them. I yield back the balance of my time.