mr. royce, and a member opposed each will control 10 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: i yield myself three minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. royce: i ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from new york, mr. engel be permitted to control five minutes of the debate time allocated to me. the chair: is there objection? the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: i appreciate the hard work of chairman lucas, but there is one program in glaring need of reform. this bipartisan amendment will make our will-intentioned but grossly outdated international food aid programs more flexible, more efficient and more effective and under the current system which was designed 60 years ago, all of our food aid must be purchased in the u.s. and at least 50% has to be shipped on u.s.-flagged vessels. yet today 60 years later, food prices and u.s. agricultural exports have reached historic highs and this makes this p

mr. royce: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks include extraneous material on this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of bipartisan legislation that i authored to help secure observer status for taiwan at the international civil aviation organization. this legislation requires the secretary of state to develop and execute a strategy to ensure taiwan has a seat at the table for i.k.o.'s upcoming september meeting. it has been over 40 years since taiwan was last a member of i.k.o., and indeed a lot has changed in that 40 years. as it stands now, all communications between taiwan and the u.s. on aviation safety must be channeled through the american institute in taiwan, which is our nation's de facto embassy in taiwan. the

mr. royce, is recognized. mr. royce: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, we are facing a serious and growing national security threat in central africa. rebel groups long active in the region have taken on a new form of elicit activity to fill their coffers, and that form is poaching. on the black market, ivory from elephant tusks run over $1,000 per kilo. rhino horns are worth their weight in gold. more than their weight in gold. $30,000 per pound. the black market for wildlife is now in the league of drug smuggling. the low risk and high reward of poaching makes it ideal for criminal groups but also for extremist groups. indeed, groups like the lord's resistance army, which the u.s. military is helping africans to track down. and the al qaeda-linked al shabab are reaping the benefit it's by brutally slaughtering these majestic, defenseless animals. these aren't your poor man's poachers, either. many poachers today are outfitted with the night-vision gol goggles and sophisticated g.p.s. equ

mr. royce: mr. speaker, congresswoman gabbard and i are proud to have the opportunity bodhinatha, tguru the spiritual leader and leader f kauai's hindu monastery. he's here part of advocacy day and is a true leader in the hindu culture. he's been head of the monastery since 2001 and has spread peace and inclusiveness around the community. additionally, his achievements have international reach. not only does he oversee the himalayan academy various publications, he serves as a publisher as the international magazine "hinduism today." he spends his time to being part of hnidu youth around the orld in producing books that teaches restraints and religious observances as well. thanks, satguru, for your opening prayer. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? mr. cotton: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does t

california congressman ed royce chairs the house foreign affairs committee which oversees the state department. mr. chairman, welcome. should there be an investigation into the charges as outlined so far in this memo? they are preliminary. >> well, absolutely. you have a situation where senior political appointees at the state department leaned in and in these reports clearly attempted to call off investigations, manipulated investigations, not just on misconduct, but on allegedly criminal activity here. the other aspect of this that is really off-putting is that for 4 1/2 years now, we have asked the administration to appoint someone in that position in order to have in the inspector general's office the authority and responsibility, and instead now we find that the political appointee is going all the way up the chain have been involved in this particular suppression. >> are you sending a letter or demanding some kind of action from the state department? >> we certainly are, especially when we find out the under secretary for management and the chief of staff for president clinton allegedly were