Ed Royce: “I thank Mr. Engel, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I would point out again that, in the past…”

“I thank Mr. Engel, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I would point out again that, in the past, State Department authorization bills that have passed the House--even under suspension--have failed due to inaction in the other body. Now, because of the strong bicameral interest in embassy security, we have an opportunity to break this bad habit and return to our core responsibility. Congressman Engel from New York and myself have discussed these issues not only with our Members, but with Members of the Senate. If enacted, this bill of course will only be the fourth time in the last 17 years that Congress has passed a State Department authorization. We need to seize this opportunity to move meaningful legislation at a time when Members of this body and in the Senate understand that this is a chance to direct this issue of embassy security and provide that additional security. I very much want to express my appreciation for the collaboration I've had with Mr. Engel, our ranking member, on this piece of legislation. This is a bipartisan bill, as he shared with you. Together, we have worked to incorporate the ideas of the members of our committee. A large number of those committee members have offered amendments that are in this legislation. So to conclude, I would point out that H.R. 2848 is a strongly bipartisan measure.…”