Ed Royce

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East and north Africa and is the former chair of the Africa Subcommittee as well.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act mandates an important interagency effort to combat terrorism and to prevent the spread of radical extremism. It increases congressional oversight by requiring increased reporting and regular monitoring and evaluation, frankly, of all of our programs. In doing so, through programs like TSCTP and with just a relatively small amount of foreign assistance dollars, we are investing in the future stability of these nations and their own ability to defeat terrorist attacks. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Mike McCaul for this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (S. 2269) to reauthorize the Global Food Security Act of 2016 for 5 additional years, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2497) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriations of funds to Israel, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, Israel faces growing threats, but particularly from Iran and its terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah. This year, for the first time, we have seen direct military engagement between Iran and Israel. It is not just attacks coming over the border from Lebanon with Hezbollah, but direct military attacks. Iran launched a drone and fired rockets toward Israel. They did both from the perch that they have now in Syria. Those Iranian militia and troops are in Syria. Meanwhile, Iran's terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, continues to amass rockets and missiles. They have well over 100,000 in their inventory now. This bill will ensure that the United States continues to have Israel's back in the face of these growing threats. With this measure, we are codifying the assistance levels in the latest 10-year U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding. What that aims to do is strengthen our already robust relationship, especially on defense matters. The bill also works to build on the United States' and Israel's successful history of cooperation on technology development. Think of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which shot down some of those Iranian rockets. Mr. Engel and I have seen those Iron Dome systems at work, deployed in Israel. More recently, the U.S. and Israel have begun collaborating on anti- tunnel technology. Why? Well, Eliot and I can tell you that we had the opportunity--and this was a sad story--to go into one of those tunnels. We did not know where that tunnel ended up when we started. The other end of that tunnel was an elementary school in Israel. Obviously, the intent of the terrorists was to use that tunnel in order to go in and kidnap children and then force the IDF to fight block by block by block. Hamas dug those tunnels. Hezbollah digs tunnels, as well. This anti-tunnel technology will help the IDF find and destroy those tunnels that are used for smuggling and launching attacks on Israel. This measure supports continued cooperation on space science and exploration, in line with the NASA Administrator's recent trip to Israel to discuss expanding U.S.-Israel space cooperation. This bill also authorizes the United States and Israel to collaborate on humanitarian assistance projects around the world. It authorizes the President to transfer precision-guided munitions to Israel. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros- Lehtinen). She is chairman emeritus of the full committee and the current chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. I thank her for her work on this bill. I also thank the gentleman from Florida, Ted Deutch, the ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Together, these two members authored the House companion to this Senate bill, which passed our committee unanimously, the latest in a long list of successful collaborations between our committee members. In honor of her tremendous legacy as an advocate for Israel, we are naming this legislation the Ileana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Act of 2018. In her almost three decades in the House, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen has made steadfast support for Israel a hallmark of her congressional career. She was the first woman to chair the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the first Hispanic women to serve in Congress. The U.S.- Israel relationship is stronger for the work that she has done in Congress. She will be greatly missed. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Washington, DC, September 10, 2018. Hon. Edward R. Royce, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning S. 2497, the ``United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018,'' which was referred to your Committee on August 3, 2018. S. 2497 contains provisions within the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will forego action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and request that you include a copy of this letter and your response in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Lamar Smith, Chairman.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the author of H.R. 5141, the House predecessor of the legislation we have before us.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

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

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. The democratic Jewish State of Israel is a friend and a major strategic partner of the United States. Israel is a beacon, as Ileana shared with us, of freedom, of democracy, of stability in the otherwise troubled Middle East. In short, it is the very opposite of the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. Iran has never made its threats to Israel a secret, and that is what they mean when the Ayatollah says: ``Death to Israel; death to America.'' After years of moving the pieces into place, including by showering its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, with money and with rockets and with missiles and attempting to exploit the conflict in Syria to build a military presence and support base there on the border, it is slowly but surely preparing to make good on this threat. With this bill, we can ensure that Israel has the tools to defend it self and defend our shared interests in the face of that mounting threat. I do thank our ranking member, Eliot Engel, and I do thank Ted Deutch for all of the bipartisan cooperation that has allowed us to move so many measures through the committee, through the Senate, and into law. I also want, in closing, to thank and to note that I was the beneficiary of the good work of my predecessor in this position, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, when I took over the committee 6 years ago, and for that I am also very thankful. I am thankful for the contributions that all of these individuals have made to the betterment of our defense, the security of the United States, the security of our allies. I am proud of the fact that we have done it in a bipartisan way. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1911) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to monitor and combat anti-Semitism globally, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, disturbingly, incidents of anti-Semitism are on the increase across Europe, across the Middle East, frankly, across the world. As Moshe Kantor, the vice president of the World Jewish Caucus, has said: ``We are witnessing a global process of radicalization. . . . Unfortunately, and with no surprise, the common element that unifies radicals seems to be their hatred of Jews.'' Today, anti-Semitism is increasingly being acted upon and, in some cases, even institutionalized. Country by country, we are seeing school curriculums attempting to indoctrinate children and attempting to spread hate. We are seeing courts and legislation institutionalize anti-Semitism. And we are seeing acts of violence against the Jewish people and their places of worship being excused. How do they rationalize it? Under the guise of a political protest. It is critical that the U.S. play a leading role to stop this scourge of hate. Yet for more than a year and a half, the top position at the State Department charged with combating anti-Semitism worldwide has remained vacant. Further, for more than 1 year, the office has also been completely unstaffed. This is unacceptable. I have raised this issue before. As a senior official at the State Department reminded world leaders this past winter: ``Absent action, the sacred pledge of `never again' can become empty rhetoric.'' We cannot allow that to happen, and the bill before us today, H.R. 1911, will help reassert U.S. leadership in combating anti-Semitism worldwide. It will mandate the expeditious appointment of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and it will elevate the office to ambassadorial rank with direct access to the Secretary of State. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I have one more speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and co-chair of the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. We have seen the horrific consequences when free societies turn a blind eye to anti-Semitic incitement and to anti-Semitic violence. Passage of this bill reaffirms that combating anti-Semitism is a top priority for the United States, and it will fill the Special Envoy position and provide it with adequate staff that is going to strengthen our ability to work with our partners overseas. So I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROYCE of California

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 401) urging China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade, as amended.

Mr. ROYCE of California. 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 in the Record.

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Hastings for authoring this important measure on the dog and cat meat trade. It is an important issue to animal lovers around this globe, and this resolution has garnered tremendous bipartisan support. He has over 100 cosponsors in this Congress for it. Protecting the world's animals, whether we are talking about dogs and cats or rhinoceros and elephant, it is not a partisan issue; and I am proud to have authored a number of critical pieces of legislation to advance this cause, including the END Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, we have made some important progress toward stopping the consumption of dog meat around the world. But, sadly, dog meat markets still exist in Asia. In fact, it is estimated that 30 million dogs and 10 million cats die annually across Asia as a result of the dog and cat meat trade, and they often live under horrendous conditions. And this practice--I would make one other point--it also raises serious public health concerns. The World Health Organization has linked the dog meat industry to human outbreaks of multiple serious diseases, including cholera, and including rabies. The spread of disease is made worse by all aspects of the trade, from the unsanitary conditions of slaughter, and the sale of dog meat in open-air markets and restaurants, and from that, to the trafficking of these animals across international borders. This important resolution urges all nations to abolish the dog and cat meat trade, to enforce existing laws against such trade, and to affirm the U.S. commitment to protecting animals, both here at home and around the world. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this measure. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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