Ed Royce

Member For

33 weeks 3 days

Website:

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (CA)

Contact:

2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4111

BIOGRAPHY

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R) is serving his ninth term in Congress representing Southern California's 40th District, based in Orange County. He and his wife, Marie, are longtime residents of Fullerton, CA.

Royce's priorities in Congress are: protecting our homeland, supporting our troops and veterans, providing meaningful tax relief for workers, protecting the budget and cutting excessive government spending, fighting crime and supporting victims of crime, strengthening education for all students, and preserving Social Security and Medicare.

Royce has a strong history of public service. In 1982, he was elected to the California State Senate where he began his fight for victims' rights. He authored the nation's first anti-stalker law and versions of his bill have been adopted in all 50 states. He was also the legislative author and campaign co-chairman of California's Proposition 115, the Crime Victims/Speedy Trial Initiative, approved by the voters in 1990. In Congress, Royce continues his fight for victims' rights. He wrote and passed the Interstate Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act in 1996. This law makes it a federal crime to pursue a victim across state lines and enables law enforcement to intervene before violence occurs. Royce was active in passing AMBER Alert legislation in 2003, and legislation in 2004 to enhance rights for victims of crime.

For the 111th Congress, Royce serves as a senior member of two important Committees in the House: Foreign Affairs and Financial Services. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Royce has been named Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade; member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Enviornment and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.

As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, Royce is at the forefront of some of the most important issues facing our country. The Subcommittee explores issues including the threat posed by Islamist terrorism, especially the al-Qaeda network; terrorist financing; terrorist sanctuaries and failed states; and capacity building of foreign forces to fight terrorism. The Subcommittee's jurisdiction over nonproliferation issues is crucial given the severity of the threat of weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands.

Within the Financial Services Committee, Royce sits on three Subcommittees: Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises; Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit; and Oversight and Investigations. Royce has served on the conference committees for some of the most significant legislation in the financial services arena. For more than a decade Royce has called for a stronger federal regulator to limit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's excessive risk taking at the expense of taxpayers. In 2003, he offered the first legislation that sought to bring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System under a strong federal regulator.

Royce has consistently earned honors and awards from the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Watchdogs of the Treasury, Americans for Tax Reform, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United Seniors Association, 60 Plus, American Share Holders Association, Citizens for a Sound Economy and the Small Business Survival Committee.

A California native, Royce is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton, and School of Business Administration. Prior to entering public service, his professional background includes experience as a small business owner, a controller, a capital projects manager, and a corporate tax manager for a Southern California company.

COMMENTARIES

Obama Addresses the Muslim World

By Rep. Ed Royce | 06/04/09

Today, President Barack Obama gave his much anticipated speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt. A few quick thoughts: • Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. Bold, a bit surprising, and on the mark. Details would have been nice. Given... read more »

2 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |

Human Rights Sideshow? Americans on Trial in Pyongyang.

By Rep. Ed Royce | 06/03/09

The Administration has said North Korea isn't a crisis. Well, its expanding nuclear weapons program, record of proliferation, rocky leadership succession, missile tests and bellicose rhetoric isn't exactly calming. North Korea surely is a crisis for two young Americans, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, imprisoned in this brutal country now for two-and-a-half months. They go on trial this week for "hostile acts,"... read more »

2 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |

British Intelligence Turns 100

By Rep. Ed Royce | 06/01/09

"We're not about vodka martinis and Aston Martin[s]...We do a serious job," protests the head of recruitment for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service - as MI6 is officially known. But that image will be tougher to "shake," as the British intelligence services get set to celebrate their 100th birthdays. MI6, the overseas outfit, will party in true James Bond fashion, with a black-tie gala that is - you guessed it... read more »

2 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |

Kim Jong-Il: Crazy Like a Fox

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/27/09

North Korea's Memorial Day nuclear test produced a flood of analysis --some of it good, some not. One op-ed I read this morning mentioned "North Korean crazies" four times. But is Kim Jong-Il really crazy? Odd, yes. Morally repulsive, absolutely. Crazy, not. This is a regime, led only by two men, that has gripped power since 1948, surviving the Korean War. While governments the world over have come and gone, while technology and the... read more »

5 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |

Challenges Ahead for India's New Government

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/21/09

Mea culpa. Writing on the Indian elections in this space last month, ("World's largest democratic exercise rolls on") I said, "It is a near certainty that no party will gain a plurality, meaning the real intrigue will start after the last vote is cast in three weeks, when a coalition will be required." That is what the U.S. Embassy and every Indian I talked to told me when I was in India. Regional parties looked strong and... read more »

4 Comments | Related Topics »National | Orange County (CA) |

Revelation: Bad People at Guantanamo

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/20/09

The Sunday talk show talk of Guantanamo had some twisting like a pretzel. One Senator, who had supported President Obama's January order to close Guantanamo within one year, announced yesterday that after sitting down with his staff, he opposes "artificial timelines" for closing the facility. I guess he discovered that very dangerous people are kept in Guantanamo after all. He also made known his opposition to releasing about a... read more »

5 Comments | Related Topics »National |

The Party Goes On: Drunken Spending at State

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/13/09

This afternoon, a top State Department official came before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to present the Administration's budget request for international spending, released last week. The hearing comes on the heels of new budget numbers projecting an expanding budget deficit. As the Associated Press reported earlier this week, "The government will have to borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year,... read more »

7 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |

Signs of Hope for Free Trade?

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/11/09

It has been a rough time for free trade backers. The number of members of Congress supporting trade deals has dwindled in recent years. “New Democrats” are practically extinct. The conventional wisdom used to be that if you got a trade deal through the House, it was a “gimmie” in the Senate. That is no longer the case, as the upper body has more and more protectionists in its ranks. Then-Senator... read more »

4 Comments | Related Topics »National | Orange County (CA) |

What Role for Human Rights?

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/06/09

The Washington Post reported yesterday ("Human Rights Activists Troubled by Administration's Approach") that human rights groups are greatly concerned by what they see as the Obama Administration giving "short shrift" to human rights in favor of an approach that "reaches out" to antagonists. Reportedly, activists are most distraught that the Obama Administration may ease sanctions against Sudan and... read more »

3 Comments | Related Topics »National | Orange County (CA) |

Hezbollah Rising: Mortar Burgers for Lebanon

By Rep. Ed Royce | 05/01/09

Many are bracing themselves for the results of Lebanon's parliamentary elections set to take place June 7th. An Associated Press article this week ("Hezbollah, allies positioning to win election") warned that with "quiet campaigning and moderate talk," Hezbollah "and its allies stand a good chance of winning." Indeed, Hezbollah - and its backers Iran and Syria - seem to be increasing their sway over... read more »