Ed Royce: “First, I thank Mr. Castro and Mr. McCaul, the co-authors of this legislation. I know Mr. McCaul knows some of the…”

“First, I thank Mr. Castro and Mr. McCaul, the co-authors of this legislation. I know Mr. McCaul knows some of the dangers that our diplomats face overseas. In his past service to the United States, he has been in parts of this dangerous world, and this is what our diplomats face. As they work to prevent armed conflict, there are armed combatants on the other side of those issues. As they try to combat terrorism, as they are working out there to empower women or to open new markets for U.S. exports, they are in tough environments. In turn, it is our job to ensure that our diplomats have the information and resources they need to stay safe while they serve our country overseas. {time} 1700 Now more than ever, everyday devices such as smartphones include location tracking capabilities. While these are enormously useful tools, they also, obviously, present security concerns as users' locations can then be tracked by others, by hostiles. For the thousands of State Department employees who work overseas, this is a real concern. It is a real security risk. While the State Department has longstanding and thorough policies on the use of these devices while in embassies and in consulates, the Department has no such policy to guide personnel outside Department grounds. And that is where we send them, outside the Department grounds. So the bill before us today addresses this security gap.…”