Ed Royce - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Washington, D.C., January 25, 2015 – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (Republican, California), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement expressing concern about the makeup of President Obama’s delegation to India:
“President Obama’s trip to India is another chance to reinvigorate one of our most important relationships, one that has unfortunately lagged over the last several years. So it’s very regrettable that the President reportedly is bringing a partisan congressional delegation with him.
All Democrats — no Republicans — will travel with the President and represent the Congress in India. There should be no party divide on U.S.-India relations, a point that was made clear to me when I, along with another Republican member of Congress, joined President Clinton in 2000 on his historic trip to India.
It has been a bipartisan coalition that has helped bring India to the forefront in Congress, including by passing the U.S.-India civilian nuclear energy cooperation bill. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration’s one-party congressional delegation undermines that spirit of cooperation and accomplishment.
“Nevertheless, as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I will continue to work with the Administration and Prime Minister Modi’s government to overcome this blunder and forge stronger U.S.-India ties, which are very much in our nation’s interest.”
