Fiscal Year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Bill

You guys can do that.

That's fine. The subcommittee will come to order. I'd like to uh welcome everyone to today's fiscal year twenty twenty seven subcommittee mark-up of the National Security Department of State and related programs appropriations bill. Let me start by thanking Chairman Cole uh for his invaluable leadership on the of the Appropriations Committee and for his commitment, his commitment to ensuring that Congress upholds its responsibility to provide the tools necessary to safeguard our national security. I also wanna thank my friend, uh, and I'll I'll I'll I'll say more about her during the uh full committee mark-up, uh Lois Frankel, uh ranking member of Delora as well, uh and all the members, members of this subcommittee for your ideas and your insight, which were really instrumental in developing. this bill. Excuse me. The bill before us is the next step in our historic efforts to strengthen our national security while reducing spending. Under Chairman Cole's leadership and with the support of our colleagues, this Republican majority has delivered nearly twelve billion dollars in responsible cuts to spending under the the purview of this subcommittee since, twenty twenty three. The FY twenty-seven bill continues this effort with an additional two point seven billion dollars uh in cuts from the enacted level. Now the greatest long-term threat to our stability, to our country's stability, uh and to our security is the debt. And this bill makes disciplined, disciplined decisions to inc- to continue reining in spending. Yet, our national security priorities are funded at or above prior year levels. The bill maintains one point eight billion dollars for partners in the Indo-Pacific, including five hundred million dollars in military assistance for Taiwan and robust funding for the Philippines and our partners in the Pacific island countries. It provides unwavering support for Israel and fully funds the United States-Israel Memorandum of Understanding by providing three point three billion dollars in security assistance. Other key partners and allies in the Middle East, such as Jordan, Egypt, continue to be strongly supported. Now recognizing the valuable partnerships in the Western hemisphere, which continue to expand and realign under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the bill increases support for our friends and allies, such as Paraguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. As part of this effort, the bill increases funds to counter narcotics and related law enforcement efforts, including investments to combat the trafficking of fentanyl, which has devastated every community in America. It also continues strong support for a democratic transition to freedom for the people of Cuba Venezuela and Nicaragua. The bill supports the America First Opportunity Fund, which enhances the United States' leverage abroad and enables a rapid response to crisis or to strategic opportunities. It continues the National Security Investment Program account, which supports efficient, targeted deployment of programs that support the United States of America's national security interests. Now last year the subcommittee focused and how to responsibly transition PEPFAR, uh, that program that we all know so much about, back to partner countries that are capable, those that are capable and ready. PEPFAR is a great success story. But most of us, I think, agree that the program, frankly like any program, should, should not just go on forever and ever and ever in perpetuity. So working alongside the administration Countries are now committing significant sums of their own resources as part of the Ameri- uh the America First global health strategy. So again, enabling this committee to responsibly reduce funding while achieving the same outcomes. Just as critical as what the bill funds is what it does not fund, and how it strengthens conditions, priorities, oversight, and demands accountability accountability for every dollar spent. The bill prohibits funds to the People's Republic of China and the Communist Chinese Party, and prohibits funds to other countries for being used to repay debt owed by those countries to China. It also requires opposition to lending to the PRC within the multilateral development banks. The bill continues a cre- a key provision adopted in the prior year, which blocks assistance to anyone that supports, finances, or facilitates the operation of the Cuban ministry, of the revolutionary armed forces, or the ministry of interior. It continues the prohibition on all assistance to the Taliban and puts America first by withholding funds from Mexico until it delivers water owed owed to the United States in accordance with the terms of the nineteen forty-four Water Treaty. Assessed funding for the United Nations is cut by one point eight billion dollars. Now here's also some, I think, key issues. No funds are included for the United Nations regular budget, and funds are prohibited to the World Health Organization, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry against Israel, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, commonly knows known as UNRWA, the malnamed United Nations Human Rights Council, the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice, just to start. The bill also includes a provision to help provide justice, justice for victims murdered in the October seventh terrorist attack, including by the way fifty American citizens by requiring full accountability for the unrest staff involved in that vicious cowardly grotesque attack. In addition, the bill includes a new provision cutting off funds to any international organization that refuses to cooperate with Inspector General, with the Inspector General. and the Inspector General's investigation on whether or into whether October seventh terrorists are on its staff. A key measure from last year's House bill, which was enacted in the FY twenty-six final bill, is maintained, requiring the Secretary of State to consider the UN voting record of countries in determining the allocation of funds. The bill supports full implementation of key executive orders that reflect a clear commitment to national sovereignty, secure borders, limited government, and American values, including those related to restoring free speech and ending censorship, ending DEI programs, and many others. And finally, the bill maintains all long-standing pro-life revisions, prohibiting funds to the UN population fund, and prohibiting uh funds being spent in contravention of the President's policy in protecting life in foreign assistance. These measures, alongside enhanced oversight and transparency, ensure, ensure American taxpayer dollars do not fund abortions, a policy that Americans overwhelmingly support. Now again, I wanna thank all of you, all of the members of this committee, uh, for your invaluable contributions to this bill. I, none of this would be possible, you all know that, without frankly the remarkable staff that we have on both sides, on Republican and Democrat, and to all of you, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your sleepless nights and hard work. Uh, now with that, with that, um, before I recognize, uh, the distinguished ranking member, we do have a birthday girl here today,

Yeah.

and I don't know if she's gonna be upset if we wish her a happy birthday to Miss Torres.

Yeah.

So happy birthday.

Yeah. Yay.

All right.

Yeah. Yay.

Okay. Let me now recognize my dear friend, a a person who, uh while we have disagreements is honorable, she's tough, but she's honorable, she's straightforward, and it's a privilege to work uh with my ranking member, uh Miss Lois Frankel of Florida.

Right, right. Thank you very much. Uh it is an honor to serve as a ranking member to this committee and uh I agree, I just wanna say this, uh I'm gonna offer a little bit different analysis. We do agree on many things, I disagree on some, but I do appreciate what's been a bipartisan uh history of this committee, and this is really this I think this is a really good committee and uh we were able to reach a, a good agreement uh, best we could. last year. Um I'm gonna also thank you thank you to the majority staff, my our staff here, the democratic staff, fantastic, to my ranking member, our Chairman of the committee who you uh, Mister Cole, thank you so much for your professionalism and your courtesy. It's really a pleasure to to work with you and uh of course all the members. Alright, so before I I get into the details of this F twenty seven, Security and Department of State bill. I wanna go over the here and now, because it is somewhat concerning, even frightening, uh because we are considering this bill against a backdrop of last year's reckless and careless dismantling of USAID, the cancellation of billions of dollars in essential programs, the firing of hundreds of dedicated public servants, and reports that this resulted in millions, not A few, but millions of deaths due to disease and starvation. And and now I think we worry a hollowed-out State Department lacks the capacity, expertise, and frankly the will to carry out the development humanitarian programs that it was never built to manage. And I hope we can get more information on that as we go along. Uh programs that Congress directed and funded, support for women's leadership and economic empowerment, peace building. Water sana and sanitation, food security, and family plan planning are being ignored. Uh we are failing our efforts to stop the spread of disease. Right now as we sit here, uh the administration is withholding the funding from Gavi organization that protects children around the world from malaria, polio, yellow fever and more, and that has prevented more than twenty million deaths since uh two thousand. We appropriated six hundred million dollars on a bipartisan basis last Not one single dollar has been released because of it's been up held upheld or held up by this abs anti-vaccine obsession of RFK. What is he butting in to the State Department with his nonsense? Uh and as a result we've actually even lost our seat at Gabi's board. Uh we have been On another note, we've been we've been strong-arming partners in to global health agreements including holding funding funding hostage due to unrelated demands like transaction of demands like we we need your critical minerals, if you want this money. Uh and I although we are claiming uh that pro programs that are up and running uh while lifesaving medications prevention servers remain out of reach, especially for girls, this is also very troubling. And uh we're We've been seeing a sweeping and deadly expansion of the Mexico City policy, now applied across almost all non-military assistants and all partners, taking a disastrous policy and expanding it in so-called diversity and inclusion, LBGT services and gender ideology. Um the administration is also fun- using our funding, this committee, to advance a very twisted immigration agenda. For example, we're hearing reports that uh th uh more than a thousand Afghan allies, people who risked their lives to support US forces, including my son, who uh served in Afghanistan, not to make it too personal, uh are currently supported by the State Department and now being forced to choose between between returning to Afghanistan or re relocating to the Democratic Republic of Congo a a country that's facing its own, Humanitarianism. I and every single day there was a news story about the United States coercing countries to accept third party deportees. Uh according to a Senate report, the US spent thirty-two million dollars that we appropriated in this bill, in payments to foreign governments r with records of corruption and human rights abuses such as Equatorial Guinea and El Salvador to take deportees, who have no relationship to these countries. And i in the middle of this chaos chaos, it's disconcerting that we are marking up our bill without a single hearing with the state uh secretary of state and without assurance that this administration is actually effectively spending the funds that we've already provided. Alright, so now getting on to the bill, I know that you were waiting for that. Uh I had to listen to you.

But that's fun.

He is a lot more dramatic I will admit. Uh uh you know this is a bill that's supposed to project American leadership through diplomacy development and humanitarian aid but instead it's pulling back at exactly the wrong time uh after four years of cuts totaling over fourteen billion a staggering twenty three percent this bill does another cut a little under three billion and at the same time uh P- President Trump is requesting billions of dollars more for war. And I wanna be clear, we cannot bomb our way to lasting peace, security and prosperity. Uh a and I've said this before, I'm gonna say it again, and I know there are gentlemen and maybe some women who have served the military. I thank you for that. My son was served in the Marines, was deployed to do wars, and I know it's important for the military to remain strong. But bombs and drones, response to threats, they do not prevent them. soft power does, and that's what this committee is about. Uh diplomacy prevents costly and deadly war, global health pro programs stop outbreaks before they reach our shores, food aid development programs reduce desperation, that fuels extremism and migration, alliances ensure we do not face threats alone, and this bill walks away from that strategy. It eliminates funding for the United Nations and UN peacekeeping at a time when participation and multilateral organizations could not be more important. It claws back a billion dollars in humanitarian assistance at a time of widespread crisis and conflict and migration in Sudan, Ukraine, and the Middle East, where the latest regional war makes matters worse. This bill prohibits funding for UNFPA, cuts family planning, and reinstates an expanded glob global gaggle with threatening the health and women globally and shatter shattering their chances for success. It's zeros it's zeros out funding for strategic so uh strategic soft power tools, not like US Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation and the US African Development Foundation. And it does nothing to help our already short staff diplomats, global health experts, and humanitarian responders. While they're forced to do more with less, this is not leadership, it's reckless and makes us less safe. Cuz when we retreat from soft power, and I know that we have members on this committee who know this well. We create vacuums and our adversaries, like China, are already filling them in. This should not be a choice between strength or restraint. It's about being smart and strong. Security home is only possible with effective, robust engagement abroad, as well as uh our ranking member made yesterday our own domestic uh funding, which we are not talking about today. If we want a safer America and a more

Thank to my my dear friend. Um and I do, I uh we have a great working relationship. Um I'm now honored to recognize um the remarkable leader of the full committee, the distinguished chairman of the committee, Mister Cole, for your remarks, sir, you're recognized.

Thank you very much uh Mister Chairman, I'm gonna make a couple of unscripted, this always bothers my Press Secretary, unscripted and off the the uh the grid sort of remarks, and then I'll I'll move to my formal things. First of all I wanna tell all of you on both sides of the committee and particularly you and the ranking member uh how much I yeah I watch all these committees very carefully and whether we can get anything done really depends on the relationship between the chairman and the ranking member. And the two of you have a wonderful relationship and a productive one where you can differ and stay friends and try to find the areas that in common we can go forward. If we we have differences that's fair enough. Uh and uh you know when uh uh Miss Chairman and ranking member as I'm Watching and listening to your opening remarks, I'm looking around the room and people are smiling and laughing. Uh, because that means coming to work in this subcommittee is something they enjoy doing and feel is very valuable. So that's a a reflection on both of you and a credit to you. Now, um, mis- Mister Chairman, any time I hear you talking, I always think about the appropriations committee. I think, well, you know, we kind of run on three things. When we're meeting, we run on cube and coffee. Uh, when we're done with the meetings and we're evaluating what happened, what to do next, we do that over cigars and bourbon. Uh, and I wanna thank you for participating robustly in two of those three. Uh, but it's uh, it's true. I mean, the c- the committee has to have a culture as well as uh, you just operate by things, and the two of you uh, you know, help make this a good and productive culture. Second, I remember when you became chairmen, of this committee, Miss Chairman, and you changed the name. Um, I remember thinking, okay, well, you know, SFOPs has been around a long time, but the change you made uh reflected the changes you've made inside this committee. Uh, you know, it has become much sharper and more focused uh in terms of working with our friends and frankly confronting our adversaries. Uh, so that change uh has been, I think, an important one, and I think it reflects on America. first point of view. That doesn't mean America alone, that doesn't mean America not, but it does mean putting our own interests first and those of our allies and understanding who our friends in the world are and who simply is not our friend and not going to be our friend but is certainly going to take advantage of our generosity uh when and if they can. And uh you've reminded us of that. You've also added a focus that we have not had for a long time on the Western hemisphere. Uh and this is our neighborhood and honestly this is the historic home of many of our own people from other parts of this hemisphere. And knowing that their interest in this country but beyond this country, in their former home, uh is important. It's not ju- w- our interests are not just Eurocentric anymore. Uh and they're not just the Indo-Pacific because we have a challenge in the Indo-Pacific, uh a great power challenge. It's in our neighborhood with uh what's happening uh in places like Cuba and Venezuela uh and trying to play a constructive role in those areas. So I just wanna thank you. I think you've been a genuinely historic chairman of an important subcommittee. We're usually absorbed much more with domestic affairs than we are internationally and you've shifted the focus of the country you and the ranking member um you know in ways that are very very productive to the interests of the United States so thank you for that. Now back to the formal remarks. Um I wanna thank uh Chairman Diaz-Gilart and thank the ranking member, certainly my good friend ranking member Delora and all the members of this subcommittee for being here this morning. Our work uh on today's fir- fiscal year twenty twenty seven National Security Department of State and related programs uh appropriations bill is a critical step toward further strengthening America's leadership on the world stage while upholding fiscal discipline. This legislation reflects a clear-eyed and unapologetic approach to our security and diplomacy efforts. It leaves no doubt that the United States will lead with purpose and strength, at home and abroad, because America first does not mean America alone. The measure reinforces support for key allies while sharpening our overall focus. And I wanna pause there and tell you, and uh the the ranking member of the full committee and I have traveled uh together in places where the influence of this committee, Jordan and Egypt and Saudi Arabia is really felt and really appreciated. And the changes that the two of you have made in terms of assuring critical allies, that we will be there with them, uh you know, was really reflected in the ranking members I visit, uh which was on the eve of an election and was meant to project the idea whatever our domestic differences, we worked in terms of advancing critical interests around the world. You have done that on this subcommittee. Uh, and that's to your credit and your distinguished staff's credit and your members'. Uh, so again, this uh reinforces support for our allies. We put American values into action by defending human rights, protecting religious liberty, and maintaining long-standing pro-life safeguards. Just as importantly, it cuts off ineffective and misaligned programs, uh investing only in high-impact missions that strengthen our security, economy, and global standing. Freedom and democracy are not just ideals. They are priorities we actively defend through this legislation. Chairman Diaz-Balart has proven that when we move away from unfocused spending and toward targeted strategy American leadership is stronger and more effective so I wanna thank him I wanna thank his distinguished ranking member uh and the majority and minority staff for their work on this bill.

Thank you uh, Mister Chairman, um look uh so many people in the press and others w were saying that the FY twenty-six bills were never gonna get done, and it it was because of the leadership of of Mister Cole and the distinguished ranking member who I'm gonna recognize now. I've I've said that to both of you

Yes, you have. You've been very kind, I think.

privately and I will again say it publicly, so uh it's just a privilege to recognize the distinguished ranking

Thank you very, very much, uh, Mister Chairman, and I thank you and ranking member of FRACLE, uh, uh, and the chair of the full committee, Mister Cole, who indeed is a is a good friend and, uh, it was a great trip and I note in this in this bill that there would, uh, in in in in regional efforts there and applaud what we're doing with regard, as I say that particularly to Jordan, which is a very fragile economy and we have uh uh maintained our commitment uh to uh uh to to Jordan and I and I applaud uh I applaud you all for that uh let me also say a thank you to the subcommittee staff, Erin Kolodziejski at Etskorn, Laurie McNone on the minority side, and counterparts on the majority. Uh thank you all for your very very hard work. Um I I will be nothing but frank about my views of the bill, I think there's not you know what you anticipate. Um, this bill continues the Trump administration's, my view, abdication of American global leadership. It cuts humanitarian assistance, it slashes global health programs, it reneges on our commitments to our partners, and it surrenders our global influence, uh, to our adversaries. Since he took office, President Trump has stumbled from one self-created international crisis to another. He dismantled much of our foreign policy, and development infrastructure, leaving partners scrambling and our diplomats already stretched too thin, struggling to explain why the United States would abandon its commitments. He began a trade war with our closest allies, raising prices for American consumers and isolating us on an international stage. I would just say that the president has made enemies out of our good friends and our allies. He dismantled USAID severing lifelines of food and medical aid around the world, and leading to a catastrophic death toll around the world. That's where my colleague, the ranking member of the subcommittee, talks about soft power. When you go abroad, where all of you have, and you know, being um in uh in in in Israel and going to some of the uh uh uh uh Palestinian uh uh uh areas, and you see a bag of flour that says USAID. It now, the letters are gonna be in Chinese. Or it's gonna be from the Soviet Union, uh from Russia, there's no longer a Soviet Union. It's a but i i i i soft power is is what u connects us with the rest of the world. He openly threatened to invade Greenland. a threat which our closest NATO allies took so seriously that they made physical preparations to defend against a US military operation. He has made a policy of extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Pacific, blowing up fishing boats, and then accusing the people he killed of smuggling drugs, while presenting no evidence. And he started a war with Iran. It's a war of choice and not necessity that has sent gas prices skyrocketing by forty percent. and has no discernible objective, no strategic vision, and no end in sight. The Trump doctrine is failure followed by failure, alienating our allies while aiding our adversaries. This bill continues that pattern. This bill does not provide any funding for the UN regular budget, abandoning one of the longest standing institutions devoted to global peace. number of members on this committee uh went uh to New York to the UN and met with the ambassador not that long ago the ambassador told us of how important US participation is to the success of the UN and the mission of the UN and we have uh abandoned that and I'll I'll just point out UNICEF my god UNICEF it's about the millions, millions of children around the world that in fact we will abandon. Undermining the UN only erodes our global influence. It also shortchanges American businesses who receive upwards of two point one billion dollars in UN contract, which is more than our dues. I just have to uh uh reinforce what the ranking members said about the Gavi vaccine alliance. We appropriated six hundred million dollars. And what's happened there, for your knowledge, is that where this is a state foreign operations issue, it has been punted over to HHS under the jurisdiction of Robert Kennedy, Junior, who was an anti-vaxxer. So the money is being held up to provide vaccines. to again millions, millions of children around the world. And HHS has no jurisdiction over this. And for this subcommittee, we ought to reclaim that jurisdiction and appropriate that money in the way that Republicans and Democrats said that it should be spent. This bill cuts funding for global health programs, particularly in the areas of reproductive health, global health security, making us more vulnerable to infectious disease. outbreaks that originate abroad. Pandemics do not respect international borders. It is in our best interest to prevent contain them before they reach our shores, but these cuts impede our ability to be able to do that. The bill threatens women's health around the globe, blocking any fronts from going to the UN population fund. UNFPA is dedicated to reducing maternal mortality, including working to eliminate obstetric fistula, an issue I care deeply about. Um, it it it preventing gender-based violence, extending family planning to women and girls everywhere. By failing to provide any funding for UNFPA, the conditions under which millions of women around the world live will only become worse. And eliminating this funding is a moral failure. The bill also eliminates all funding for the US Institute for Peace. the Inter-American Foundation, and the US African Development Foundation. Each of these programs strengthen our influence abroad, enable us to prevent crises before they arise, and build relationships with the next generation of global leaders. Taken together, the cuts in this bill surrender a great deal of global influence to our adversaries. For every step backwards we take on a world stage, they take a step forward. Continually defunding the institutions that support America's international presence will have serious and lasting consequences. In little more than a year, the Trump administration has squandered decades of American global influence. This bill hinders our ability to reclaim any of it for years to come. It is remarkable the distance between how much we are willing to devote to war and how little we can spare for peace. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this bill, work with Democrats, let's craft a funding bill that strengthens American international leadership, not weakens it. Thank you and I yield back.

I thank the distinguished um ranking member. Any other members wish to make opening remarks? Um um, Mr. Quigley? Actually,

Mm.

Miss Meng. I'm sorry, let me recognize Miss Meng first. You're recognized.

Thank you, Chair Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Frankel. Uh, my constituents in Queens are facing an affordability crisis. Instead of addressing it, the President cut taxes for billionaires, and is now proposing we spend one point five trillion dollars on our military budget, paid for with cuts to health care and food assistance programs that help working Americans. He even said the other day, quote, it's not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. We have to take care of one thing, military protection. Mister Chairman, I don't think we need a one point five trillion dollar military budget. I certainly don't think we should be cutting health care, food assistance, and our national security budget to pay for it. In fact, it may shock my constituents to learn that according to estimates, We have likely spent more on the Iran war over forty days than this bill proposes that we spend on programs that prevent war over the course of a whole year. This bill proposes a six percent cut to our national security budget, further cementing America's retreat from the world while ceding ground to our adversaries and threatening our national security. It would also rescind an additional one billion dollars in life humanitarian aid. According to estimates, existing aid cuts, including the destruction of USAID, have already led to more than seven hundred and sixty thousand preventable deaths, and are projected to cause up to twenty-three million preventable deaths by twenty-thirty. After this administration's attacks on birth control, this bill would further harm the world's women and girls by cutting life-saving international family planning programs. I'm also deeply troubled that this bill further entrenches the administration's new expanded global gag rules which treat women, minority communities, and LGBTQ plus communities like America's enemies. These communities look to America as a beacon for freedom and human rights, while our worst adversaries target and repress them. We should not do their bidding. We can't cut programs that keep people healthy, safe,

Thank you so much. Any other member who wish to make opening remarks? Okay, Ms. Torres.

Uh thank you, Chairman. Uh in this subcommittee we have always known that America alone is not America first. But we see in President Trump's budget money for war, but not for peace. And I see in our bill a choice to put isolation over influence and chaos over the rule of law. We have a war spiraling out of control with no end in sight. And in this subcommittee, we have an opportunity to fund peace. It is an opportunity to fund partnerships, an opportunity to fund economic growth and safety that will help America for a generation. But the bill before us fails to fund key international commitments, including the UN general budget. If we don't pay our dues, if we don't take our seat at the table and demand it, the global conversation goes without us. This is what the UN ambassador told us. We opened the door and surrender our influence to China and Russia at international organizations. That's not strength, that's a surrender. This bill fails to put the US Institute for Peace, a self-explanatory name, as a priority. As someone who has spent a career fighting for accountability, in the Northern Triangle, I am disappointed by the strategic blindness in in this text. This bill completely defunds the international, the Inter-American Foundation. We should be talking about results, not rhetoric. In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, the IAF guarantees grantees successfully reduce youth participation in narco-trafficking. Criminal and migration. One program alone successfully reduced criminal activity among participants by ninety percent, a proven cost effect of defense against the the migration, a crime we claim to want to stop. Eradicating the programs that reduce narco-trafficking while this administration pardons pardons and releases convicted narco-trafficker and former president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez convicted, by the way, by a jury of Americans is a complete slap in the face to our constituents who've lost loved ones to addiction. To my colleagues across the aisle, American businesses are coming to us behind closed doors because they're terrified. They cannot invest in a hemisphere where the rule of law is a suggestion and where an attorney general can weaponize a personal vendetta into a criminal's trial, as is the case in Guatemala. The bill says it focuses on Latin America, but I find the Latin America section deeply disappointing. We need a bill that fights corruption, upholds the rule of law, and includes in the bill tax important limits on funds to ensure that we are not turning over taxpayer dollars to corrupt individuals and that provisions that were once bipartisan and championed by Senator Rubio. This is what he worked on and that I worked on with him. Without these safeguards, we are essentially asking American taxpayers to write a blank check to corrupt autocrats who view our foreign aid as a personal slush fund. Chairman, this bill abandons the values that we've spent decades building in a bipartisan way. Provisions that were standard last year, provisions that should endure regardless of who holds power. We have been, they have been stripped stripped out without justification. It leaves our embassies understaffed. Our partners abandoned and our borders more vulnerable by gutting the programs that address the root causes of instability. I can't support the bill that compromises our national security. in our moral standing. And I oppose this measure and I yield back.

Thank you so very much. Anybody else uh would like to be recognized? Mister Quigley, your recognizer.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, I know most of you uh traveled with many of you. Mister Edwards and I traveled to Ukraine in a most enlightening uh trip. Mister Chairman, you and I have been to uh Poland, to the islands, Dominican, uh across the world. Uh I'm starting to think that we are witnessing the same things, but we're seeing something different. Uh we all grew up with the notion of uh I'll believe it when I see it. I'm starting to think it's it's now I'll see it when I when I believe it. Uh that we react so differently to what's happening here that it's almost frightening. Um so uh I I think the sense of isolationism uh the cooling withdrawal from NATO, the issues with USAID which have already been pointed out, terrifying our friends Canadian tourism to the United States has just plummeted in Chicago and everywhere. It's if we can't get along with Canada, who who are we going to get along with? Um and and I'm sure the people of Ukraine don't feel particularly warm and fuzzy with us. So Maybe it's time to look back at someone who had the greatest perspective of understanding our place in the world when it mattered most. And my favorite presidential speeches were always the shortest ones, right? Lincoln at Gittesburg? Who remembers who Edward Everett was, cuz he spoke for two hours there. But FDR's last inaugural was at the White House at the South Portico, and he only spoke for six minutes, five hundred and fifty-six words. But I think he captured as well as he captured the essence of that time and all he had been through with the isolationist. He reminded us that we have learned that we can't live alone at peace, and that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. We must live as men, not ostriches, and that we have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community. And finally he quoted Emerson by saying, The only way to have a friend is to be one. I'm not sure we have many friends. Having served on the Intel committee for nine years now, I will tell you the smallest countries in the world are invaluable to us. And that synergy, that relationship is so important, while seemingly unimportant when we think of, well we're gonna prioritize each of these dollars, where your mind, remember what Secretary Mattis said, I if you cut the State Department, you better buy me more bullets. Uh I don't think we can buy enough bullets to keep ourselves safe if we are indeed ostriches in the world. Thank you.

I want to thank the gentlemen. Anyone else uh have an opening statement? Uh seeing nobody else, uh also seeing no amendments. Um At this time then I would recognize the distinguished Vice Chairman of the subcommittee, Mister Edwards, for the purpose of making a moment.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the bill be favorably reported to the full committee.

The question is on the motion. Uh uh those in favor will signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, no.

No. No.

We call for the recorded vote.

Uh the ayes have it. Uh record a vote has been uh has been uh requested. Uh all those in favor please uh raise your hand for the recording vote. Raise your hand for a recorded vote.

Oh, okay.

Thank you. Uh sufficient number

Time of the voting.

Yeah, if sufficient if sufficient number of hands, uh the clerk will uh a recorded vote has been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.

Mister Alford.

Aye.

Mister Alford, aye. Mister Syskemani.

Aye.

Mister Syskemani, aye. Mister Diaz-Balart.

Aye.

Mister Diaz-Balart, aye. Mister Edwards.

Aye.

Mister Edwards, aye. Miss Frankel.

No.

Miss Frankel, no. Miss Letlow. Miss Letlow, aye. Miss Meng.

No.

Miss Meng, no. Mr. Molinar.

Aye.

Mr. Molinar, aye. Mr. Quigley.

No.

Mr. Quigley, no. Mr. Roshenthaler, aye. Miss Torres.

No.

Miss Torres, no. Mr. Cole.

Aye.

Mr. Cole, aye. Miss DeLauro.

No.

Mr. DeL, Miss DeLauro, no.

Does any member wish to record their vote that has not? Or change their vote? Uh the clerk will tally. On this vote, the a's are eight, the no's are five, the bill is favorably reported uh to full committee. I ask you in Adam's consent that the staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill and report uh without objection, so ordered. Copies of the bill and the report, excuse me, copies of the bill and report with technical and conforming changes will be delivered to all full committee members' offices no later than three business days before the full committee. Uh with that, thank everyone very much, and that concludes today's mark-up. Thank you so much. The committee now stands adjourned.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'm very much

I have a couple of questions.

Um.

Okay, all right, thank you. I think this one was beyond what I had. Can I can I start? Yes, you can begin with that too.

Good morning. The subcommittee will come to order. I wanna welcome everyone to the subcommittee mark-up of the FY twenty seven agricultural rural development food and drug administration and related agencies appropriations bill I'm pleased to be joined by our subcommittee ranking member Mister Bishop full committee Chairman Cole ranking member, Deloro and members of the subcommittee. For fiscal year twenty-seven, the subcommittee's discretionary allocation for the USDA, the F FDA, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is twenty-six point twenty-seven billion, a three hundred and eighty million, or one point four percent decrease from fiscal year twenty-six enacted level. This bill is below enacted spending levels, even though it includes funding for the CFTC, which was funded via the financial services and uh general government bill, last fiscal year. In a setting two trillion dollar deficits, these modest spending reductions are necessary. In fact, spending is our problem, not revenue. CBO projects, once again, federal revenue to increase in FY twenty-six. This legislation reflects a clear conservative commitment to fiscal responsibility, while ensuring that America's farmers, ranchers and rural communities remain a top priority, and that all Americans have access to a safe food and drug supply. This legislation builds on the successful efforts of the Trump administration to root out fraud, waste and abuse, shrink the federal bureaucracy, and make USDA programs more farmer-friendly. It sets USDA on a responsible and sustainable spending path that will make both the department and our nation stronger. Under President Trump and Secretary Rollins' leadership, every taxpayer dollar will be spent in the pursuit of putting all American farmers and ranchers first. I'd like to highlight a few areas with it. legislation supports the administration's efforts to refocus the department on its core mission by prioritizing essential functions in a fiscally responsible manner. The bill provides one point one six billion for the animal and plant health inspection service APHIS to support the department's efforts to protect our producers from high path avian influenza, new world screw worm, and other foreign plant and animal diseases. The legislation continues to invest in the delivery of farm programs, disaster and crop insurance to farmers by prioritizing funding for farmer-facing functions. Following the budget request, the bill moves fifty million of farm service agency IT funds from FSA to the office of the Chief Information Officer to continue to invest in, and implement, USDA's One Farmer, One File initiative. After accounting for this transfer of funds, the bill increases overall funding for FSA staff, including for county office. The bill provides eight billion dollars for WIC, four percent higher than last year's mark, and allows WIC participants to p- purchase fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables, making all affordable options available. The bill provides important investments in critical agricultural research that'll keep our producers on the cutting edge of technology and production practices. We maintain funding for USDA's flagship competitive grant program, the Agriculture and Food Research and protect capa- uh capacity funding for our land grant universities to insure our farmers and ag workforce remains competitive with China.

Yeah, I'll just

This legislation continues to fund vital rural development programs,

Yeah, we'll discuss it, yeah.

including critical infrastructure investments in water and waste water systems and housing programs, as well as increasing the loan authority for the business and industry and rural electric programs due to increased demand.

Yeah.

For the FDA, the bill provides three point three six billion in direct appropriations, and with increased user fees, FDA has a total budget of seven point one billion to enable the agency to keep food, drugs, and medical devices safe and effective, as well as advancing the Make America Healthy Again initiatives highlighted in the President's budget. I appreciate the productive conversations ranking member Bishop and I have had on this bill. I believe credible evaluation of this legislation will conclude that it balances the funding needs of the USDA, FDA, and CFTC, while being r- responsible stewards of our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars. As Mister Bishop has said, this is a good faith effort to meet the moment, and there are critical things that warrant support. We wanna keep working with the minority as we move towards full committee mark-up next week.

Okay.

Finally, I wanna thank the staff on the subcommittee, and would note that the subcommittee received approximately ten thousand member requests touching every agency under our,

Good morning and thank you, Doctor Harris. Uh before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the life of our colleague, my friend of long standing, my agriculture comrade in arms, former House Agriculture Committee Chairman, and faithful member of our Georgia delegation, uh Representative David Scott, who passed away on yesterday. His unwavering commitment to public service and tireless work to improve rural communities eighteen ninety land grant universities, And agriculture at large is greatly appreciated by the committee and by people all across the country. I will miss him dearly and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and his staff, and uh, Mister Chairman, if I would uh I'd like to ask if we could have a moment of silence uh in out of respect for Representative Scott. Thank you. We'll miss him and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and with his staff. The Agricultural Rural Development, FTA and related agencies' bill is of vital importance to farmers and rural communities across the nation. It also provides the resources that are necessary for America's food and drug safety. It affects every single American, every single day. Today we gather to mark up the FY twenty twenty seven bill, a bill that is not as robust or constructive as I would prefer, but nonetheless a good faith effort to meet the needs of agricultural producers and our rural neighbors. Our subcommittee staff has worked under an unusually short time frame, given the very recent budget request from the president and So I do wanna take a moment to acknowledge Martha Foley, Pam Miller, Alex Swan, Marie Gualtieri, and all of the work that has gone into last week's hearing and into this bill as well. I'd also like to thank my personal staff, uh Tanisha Boomer and Hayek Hoeksepian for their untiring efforts. I'm pleased uh, Doctor Harris, that this bill largely rejects the disastrous cuts and in some cases, program eliminations put forth by by the administration in the USGA budget request. The bill does continue twenty twenty-six funding levels for all rural housing programs and maintains funding for low income seniors in the commodity food supplemental program and it serves our strategic interest around the world by keeping food for peace and McGovern Dolem McGovern Dole programs uh intact. Uh the bill also provides sufficient funding for our school meals and flexibility for rural electric programming. Is the bill perfect? Absolutely not. The FY twenty twenty seven bill before us today drastically cuts fruit and vegetable benefits for over five million hungry women infants and children. And it reduces funding for emergency food assistance. It eliminates the healthy food financing initiative. And it fails to help school districts with the equipment needed to cook. Real food. I'm happy to work with Doctor Harris uh to make America healthy again by bringing these programs back. Uh this bill also cuts staff at the agencies that our farmers rely on most, the Farm Service Agency, Rural Development, and NRCS, during a period of economic crisis in farm country. Water and wastewater grants are cut nearly in half for the smallest and which makes no sense. We still have rural neighbors living with clay pipes and without access to sewer service. Trust me, they're in my district and yours too. Clean water and working wastewater systems are basic human need, not a privilege. This critical infrastructure is a quality of life issue. My colleagues across the aisle seem obsessed with the border in November twenty twenty four, but will not provide the basic utilities that Texas border residents, American citizens need. Colonials often lack running water, have substandard housing, and rely on failing septic tanks. Yet this bill cuts water and wastewater funding to these neighborhoods as well as Alaska and Hawaii residents. Unfortunately, rural broadband is cut by twenty percent, rural business development is cut by almost thirty percent and rural energy programs are cut by fifty percent. Rural America needs help now more than ever and I hope that we can improve this bill as the appropriations process continues. I'm also disappointed that the majority is once again offering caustic riders that have nothing to do with how our ag producers keep this country fed and clothed with the highest quality and the most abundant um the most uh affordable food and fiber in the world. In fact, these riders simply take the focus away from agriculture and distract us from the real issues. Overall, I appreciate your solid effort, Doctor Harris, to work diligently and collaboratively on this building. I look forward to our further conversations and discussion. And with that, I yield back.

Thank you very much, and uh I'll I'll just note it's uh it's great that a physician and a lawyer work together. Uh thank you, Mister Bishop, now turn to the distinguished chairman of the committee Mister Cole for any remarks he may have.

Thank you very much uh Mister Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member Bishop, and certainly my good friend Ranking Member Delora, and to all the members here today. Our subcommittee mark-ups continue this morning with fiscal year twenty twenty seven agricultural rural development food and drug administration and related agencies bill. We all recognize a simple truth, when American agriculture is strong, America is strong. This bill delivers on that. It supports farmers, ranchers and rural communities and invests in research to keep the U S competitive. The measure also includes important action to protect U S enterprise. I'm particularly pleased with the steps taken to bolster national security by addressing foreign influence in agricultural transactions and improving oversight of overseas drug manufacturing. The health and well-being of Americans remains central to this measure. We strengthen rural development, protect access to nutrition programs, and reinforce the integrity of critical food and medical supply chains. And just as importantly, uh, this bill restores focus and accountability by cutting wasteful programs, eliminating Bida-er Biden-era regulations, taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and with purpose. This measure puts American producers, consumers and communities first and supports a strong agricultural economy protects public health and reinforces long-term prosperity. I thank Chairman Harris for his leadership in crafting this bill and I appreciate the partnership of Ranking Member Bishop as well. And certainly uh I'm very grateful for the hard work of the majority and minority staff. I look forward to advancing this bill out of subcommittee. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Cole. I'll now recognize the ranking member of the full committee, Miss DeLauro, for any remarks she may have.

Okay. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you, Ranking Member Bishop, uh, and my friend uh, Chairman Cole. Uh, if I could just associate myself uh with the comments of the ranking member um on the loss of our a wonderful colleague, Congressman uh David Scott, I had the opportunity to work with uh uh David um on farm bills over the years. I served as the chair of the agriculture subcommittee and uh was a p- really a pleasure to work with someone deeply deeply committed uh to rural communities and to the farm community in in this in this nation so in fond memory of our friendship um I also say wanna say a thank you to the subcommittee staff to Martha Foley Marie Gualtieri and Alex Swan on the minority side, and their counterparts on the majority as well uh for the unbelievable hard work that um these folks uh provide to uh to all of us. Um I oppose the bill that is before the subcommittee today. It would raise costs on American farmers and working families while cutting off crucial support for rural communities across the country. This bill makes substantial cuts to food vouchers specifically for women children and infants. Nearly seven million of whom received a through this program in twenty twenty five. These are families with small children who are doing their best to make ends meet, as the cost of groceries go up with no end inside, this food voucher program offers relief to those who struggle today to put food on the table and we know that people are struggling to put food on the table. The program also supports the farmers and grocers who grow and sell the fruits and vegetables that these families can buy with their vouchers. Cutting back on this assistance will have cascading economic impact that leaves everyone worse off. The bill cuts the Food for Peace program by three hundred million dollars, a twenty-five percent cut compared to twenty-twenty-six. It denies hungry children around the globe access to the assistance they desperately need but it deprives our farmers of the additional revenue that they earn when they grow food to support the program and I would just say if you don't wanna consider the hungry children around the world, I would hope you would care about what happens uh to US farmers and um uh that you wanna make sure that they are um uh uh uh justly being able to uh uh scratch out a living. This bill cuts grant funding for waste and water development programs of rural communities. More than two point two million Americans do not have access to basic plumbing and running water in their homes, and this problem is more pronounced in rural communities. The point of these grants is to help address that issue. Instead, the bill slashes funding for these efforts by sixty-two million dollars, leaving more and more Americans without access to the basic necessities of life we should all expect in the United States. The bill also eliminates the Rural Utility Services, uh, their high energy cost grants. The bill cuts loans under the Rural Energy for American program by fifty percent, while eliminating all grant funding. This program was created to help bring down energy costs for farmers, small businesses and rural communities. More than twenty-five thousand projects have been funded through this program, helping people across all fifty states reduce their energy costs. And over two-thirds of grants have gone to Republican-led districts. Yet, the Republican bill we are considering today decimates the program, raising energy costs for their own constituents all across. The bill does nothing to further protect our infants and better ensure infant formula safety, even in the wake of the by-heart botulism outbreak that surprised regulators and scared parents over the last few months. This bill leaves behind specialty crop, specialty crops, family and small farmers, while doing nothing to tackle the big agribusinesses that terrorized our farm economy and increased costs for the American consumer. Lastly, this bill includes a variety of divisive policy writers. It eliminates protections for small meat and poultry producers, a gift to their larger corporate competitors, and it retreads partisan culture war provisions that have been stripped out of previous AG FDA bills which discriminate against same-sex couples. In its current form, this bill raises costs for American farmers, takes food away from hungry families, cuts off support for rural communities and loudly bangs the device of culture war drums once again. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this legislation and work with Democrats to fix the many serious problems it contains. As a footnote, I would just say, and I would say this to you, Mister Chairman, you made the point in your opening that we have a spending problem versus a revenue problem. If you take a look at the new ITEP report, that shows eighty eight of our biggest uh industries pay zero taxes to the United States. We're talking about some eight hundred and sixty one billion dollars. I s- I submit to you that if we track that down and we provided that kind of enforcement, we would indeed have the funding to deal with some of these uh uh programs that now have been eliminated. In fact, as you have you've heard me say before, we have a revenue problem and not a spending problem. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Lord. At this time, does any member of the subcommittee wish to be recognized for opening remarks? Do any members wish to be recognized for amendments? Seeing no amendments, I'd like to recognize Mister Franklin, Vice Chairman of the subcommittee, for the purpose of making a motion.

Thank you, Chairman. I move the bill uh be favorably reported before committee.

Question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Those opposed, no.

No.

Opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.

Mister Chairman, the recorded vote.

Recorded vote has been requested. All those in favor of recorded vote, raise your hand. A sufficient number in support, a recorded vote is ordered. The clerk will call the roll.

That's all. It's a good show.

Mister Adderholt.

Aye.

Mister Adderholt, aye. Mister Bishop.

To roll.

Mister Bishop, no, Mister Klein.

Aye.

Mister Klein, aye. Mister Cole. Mister Cole, aye. Miss Deloro.

No.

Miss Deloro, no. Mister Franklin.

Aye.

Mister Franklin, aye. Miss Glussenkamp-Perez.

No.

Miss Glussenkamp-Perez, no. Doctor Harris.

Aye.

Doctor Harris, aye. Miss Henson.

Aye.

Miss Henson, aye. Miss Capter.

There's not so many here. No.

Miss Capter, no. Miss Letlow.

Aye.

Miss Letlow, aye. Mister Molinar. Mister Molinar, aye. Mister Newhouse.

Aye.

Mister Newhouse, aye.

No.

Miss Pingree, no. Miss Underwood?

No.

Miss Underwood, no. Mister Valadao?

Aye.

Mister Valadao, aye. Miss Wasserman-Schultz? Miss Wasserman-Schultz, no.

Do any member wish to record their vote or change their vote? If they've all voted.

Oh, that microphone. Your mike on.

Ten votes being aye, seven votes being nay. The ayes have it. And the subcommittee uh mark is passed. I ask unanimous consent that the staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill and report without objection. So ordered copies of the bill and report with the technical and conforming changes will be delivered to all full no later than three business days before the full committee mark-up, which I think means it has to be delivered tomorrow. Thank you. The committee now stands adjourned.