Ed Royce: “From Syria to Afghanistan to Sudan, armed conflicts are raging all over this globe, and efforts to negotiate their ends…”

“From Syria to Afghanistan to Sudan, armed conflicts are raging all over this globe, and efforts to negotiate their ends are more important now than ever. We know that when women are included in these discussions that we are much more likely to see an enduring peace. As a witness at our hearing on women's participation explained: including women is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. The legislation before us today will strengthen U.S. efforts to promote the inclusion of women in peace negotiations in order to create more sustainable agreements and reduce that likelihood that we have seen over and over and over again of a return to conflict. I take this moment to thank Representatives Noem and Schakowsky for their bipartisan work on this measure. I also want to mention a few staff members who have not only worked on our series of focusing month after month on empowering women in negotiations, but on issues beyond that--human trafficking. I especially want to thank Jessica Kelch, Janice Kaguyutan, Renee Munasifi, and Elizabeth Cunningham. I thank them all for their efforts throughout the years on these issues. As we close, I really urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R.…”