Washington, DC – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s last State of the Union Address:

“For seven years, President Obama has focused more on befriending our enemies than helping our allies.  And the results have been increasingly dangerous to our nation.  ISIS, Iran, and the North Korean regime are on a roll, and this administration is getting rolled.

“Tonight the president could have used his address to change course.  He could have responded to North Korea’s nuclear threats by strongly supporting my bipartisan bill cracking down on the Kim regime that overwhelmingly passed the House this afternoon.  He could have made clear that Iran will not be allowed to cash in on sanctions relief while it tests ballistic missiles, fires rockets at our ships, and seizes more Americans.  And he could have finally begun laying out the broad, overarching strategy needed to destroy ISIS.  Instead, it appears the president is comfortable running out the clock and pushing these growing threats to the next administration. 

“As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I hear from our partners and allies around the world every day.  They are desperate for us to re-engage and lead in tackling the threats we all face.  Rather than spend the next 11 months on misguided priorities like releasing the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, the president needs to use his remaining time to keep America and our allies safe.  The president already has all the authority he needs to take the fight to radical Islamist terrorists.  What we need is for him to outline a plan to win, and execute it.”

###