Ed Royce: “I will share with the Members here that I rise in strong support of this legislation to extend for another 10 years the…”

“I will share with the Members here that I rise in strong support of this legislation to extend for another 10 years the United States- United Kingdom Mutual Defense Agreement. This agreement has governed our nuclear cooperation with the United Kingdom for 50 years. As always, I appreciate the cooperation of our ranking member, Mr. Engel of New York, for bringing this legislation to the floor. By acting today, we will ensure that this vital cooperation with Great Britain continues uninterrupted. Mr. Speaker, the United States has no closer ally than the United Kingdom. We all know that. Our societies are founded on a shared belief in freedom and universal human rights. As a result, our close consultation on major foreign policy issues has long been routine; and coordinated action, frankly, is the norm between us and the U.K. We share an unprecedented defense relationship. The advantage of that is it has helped us secure our shared interests and values since the World Wars of the last century. We have fought side by side in conflicts from World War I to Afghanistan. Today, we have joined forces, along with other partners, to battle ISIL. Our intelligence cooperation is unique. We are both founding members of NATO. We have shouldered a disproportionate share of the burden in NATO.…”