Ed Royce: “I just want to begin by thanking our colleague, Mr. Hurd from Texas, for his work here on behalf of the safety and…”

“I just want to begin by thanking our colleague, Mr. Hurd from Texas, for his work here on behalf of the safety and security of the American people. He is a former CIA undercover officer. As a result of that, I think he had some unique insights here in moving this legislation. The name of this bill is Enhancing Overseas Traveler Vetting Act. I would also like to thank one other Member, and that is the Homeland Security chairman, Mr. McCaul. He is also on the committee that Mr. Sherman and I serve on, but I thank him for his leadership on the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel. That task force made recommendations, with the help of Mr. Hurd, and it led to the introduction of this important piece of legislation. It was passed out of the committee I chair, the Foreign Affairs Committee, back in February. I also want to recognize Mr. Eliot Engel and Mr. Sherman for their assistance and support on this as well. I think the reason this has such resonance with the Members in the House is because the global threat of terrorism has never been as high as it is today. In just the last 12 months, we have seen terrorists strike in my home State of California; we have seen it in France, Belgium, Turkey, India, Tunisia--where I just was a few days ago--the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Iraq. We were up in Erbil and Baghdad. And I have got to tell you, this is a situation that is compounding.…”