Ed Royce: “I have an amendment to the preamble at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk…”

“I have an amendment to the preamble at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Strike the preamble and insert the following: Whereas the Republic of Singapore became independent on August 9, 1965, and the United States recognized Singapore's statehood in the same year; Whereas Singapore and the United States established formal diplomatic relations in 1966; Whereas under the leadership of its first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore became an early and continued supporter of United States engagement in Asia to safeguard the peace, stability, and prosperity of the region; Whereas the United States and Singapore implemented the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the first bilateral trade agreement between the United States and an Asian country, in 2004; Whereas Singapore and the United States are major trading partners, with $64 billion in bilateral goods and services trade in 2014 and a United States trade surplus in both goods and services; Whereas Singapore provided the United States access to its military facilities with a 1990 Memorandum of Understanding, supporting the continued security presence of the United States in Southeast Asia; Whereas the United States and Singapore concluded a Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 which recognized Singapore as a ``Major Security Cooperation Partner'' of the United States; Whereas the United States and Singapore signed an enhanced Defense Cooper…”