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

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call this meeting of the appropriations committee to order i wanna welcome everybody uh to our second uh full committee mark up for this it's actually our third uh full committee mark up for twenty twenty seven today's mark up will cover national security department of state related uh programs tomorrow we will consider the ag rural development food and drug administration and related agencies bill our schedule today obviously is unusual uh given the fact that we have a joint session of congress to hear the uh address by his majesty king charles um we will recess at an appropriate time to allow members to make their way to the house chamber and then that that will probably be around two fifteen i think we're all supposed to be in our seats by two thirty so somewhere that uh neighborhood will uh bring things to a a recess uh depending on floor schedule we also will recess for votes nonetheless it's my intention to get through this today uh we have a very tight schedule so we are going to move um

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you know so just keep that in mind and again i'm i have no problem with debate exchange amendments that's all fine uh just know that we are gonna finish today um so i finally have a couple of brief reminders the staff has asked me to make uh i'm not gonna read all this but when we're doing when you wanna request a vote please get us hands up as quick as you can it's very helpful we have to do that um so second uh we'll continue to observe the five minute rule i wanna thank all of you nobody's abused it in any way so and we certainly will be trying to be generous as you're finishing up around that five minute mark if you use all your time uh finally uh i don't need think i need to tell you this committee prides itself in long-standing commitment to orderly and respectful debate i think that's exactly what we had last week and i wanna thank all of you uh for handling yourselves and representing this committee with great distinction so uh with that uh we will begin our first order of business today again it's consideration of the national security department of state related agencies and you'll now recognize i will now recognize chairman diaz-ballard

thank you mister chairman if i may just take one second to first announce that uh i'll be i'll be providing lunch uh uh lunch time i will also be providing a birthday cake yes uh lunch time because it is chairman cole's birthday today what

hooray hooray

a mark up and the king who could have a better birthday than that short version long version of it or

short short short we we've already done that but if uh is it appropriate or what

yeah short version yeah

alright let's do the short version ready ok yeah

short version

please happy birthday mr. chairman thank you

thank you

uh mr. chairman i'm pleased to present the fifth school year twenty twenty seven national security department of state and related programs Appropriations Bill to the full committee for consideration and approval. Let me start by thanking the Chairman, Chairman Cole, for his invaluable leadership of the Appropriations Committee and for his commitment to ensuring that Congress upholds its responsibility, our responsibility, to provide the tools necessary to safeguard our national security. I also wanna thank ranking member, Frankl uh Lois Frankl and I have been friends for many, many years. And I will tell you she's tough as nails but she's honorable and if she tells you something you can count on it it is it's a pleasure to work with her uh again it's a pleasure to work with my colleague uh ranking member delora uh and all the members of this committee uh for your ideas and insights which have been instrumental in developing this good bill the bill before us is the next step in our historic effort to strengthen our national security while 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 purview of this subcommittee since twenty twenty-three. In fiscal year twenty-seven, this bill continues to suffer with an additional two point seven billion reduction below the enacted level. and i have to tell you that the greatest long-term threat to our country's stability and security is our debt and this bill makes disciplined decisions to continue reining in unnecessary spending yet our national security priorities are funded at or above prior year levels and so let me be very clear if you're a friend or an ally of the united states of America this bill supports you and if you're an adversary or are cozying up to our adversaries well frankly you're just not gonna like this bill then the bill maintains one point eight billion for partners in the Indo-Pacific including five hundred million dollars in military assistance for Taiwan and robust funding for for the Philippines and our partners in the Pacific island countries It provides unwavering support for Israel and fully funds the United States uh 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 and Egypt, continue to be strongly supported. Now, recognizing the vulnerable and the valuable partnerships in the Western Hemisphere which continue to expand by the way those partnerships and realign under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio the bill increases support for our friends and allies such as Paraguay or Argentina and Costa Rica. As part of this effort the bill increases funds for counter-narcotics and related long uh law enforcement efforts including investments to combat trafficking in fentanyl which has devastated every community across America and I'm all of us should be uh thankful to the leadership of the Dean of the House and the uh Chairman Emeritus of this committee, Mister Rogers. 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 United States' leverage abroad and enables a rapid response crisis and strategic opportunities that may arise. It continues the National Security Investment Program account, which supports efficient targeted development deployment of programs that support United States national security interests. You keep hearing this, there's a theme. This bill supports the national security interests of our country. Last year, the members of the NSRP subcommittee focused on how to responsibly transition PEPFAR uh that program that we all know about back to partner countries that are capable that are capable and ready PEPFAR is a great success story but i think most of us agree that that a program or any program should not just go on forever and ever so working alongside the administration countries are now committing significant subs of uh sums of their own resources as part of the america first global health strategy enabling this committee to 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 prioritizes oversight and demands accountability for every single dollar in this bill the bill prohibits funds to the people's republic of china and the communist chinese chinese party and prohibits funds to other countries from being used to repay debt owed to china it also requires opposition to lending to the pr c within the multi uh multilateral development banks bless you there's a sneeze if anybody is wondering why i said that the bill continues a a key provision uh adopted in the previous year that blocks assistance to anyone that supports finances or facilitates the operations of the cuban military including the cuban ministry of the revolutionary armed forces or ministry of the interior it continues the prohibition an all on all assistance assistance to the taliban and puts america first by withholding funds from mexico until it delivers water 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. No funds, no funds are included for the United Nations regular budget and funds are prohibited to the following organizations. The World Health Organization, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry against Israel, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA, the United Nations Human Rights Council, if you can call it that, uh, 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 uh to help provide justice for victims murdered on October seventh twenty twenty three on that terrorist attack, including by the way fifty American citizens. Fifty American citizens by requiring full accountability for the unrest staff involved in this vicious attack. In addition, the bill includes a new provision, cutting off funds to any international organization that refuses to cooperate with Inspector General uh investigations into whether October seventh terrorists are on its staff. A key measure from last year's bill, which is law, which was enacted in FY twenty-six, is maintained, requiring the secretary of state to consider the UN voting record voting records I should say of countries in determining the allocation of funds. That's something that should have been done many many years ago. The bill supports full implementation of key executive orders that reflect clear commitment to national sovereignty, a secure border, limited government, and American values, including those related to restoring free speech and ending censorship, ending DEI programs, and other things. finally the bill maintains all long-standing pro-life prohib uh prohibitions or provisions it prohibits funds for the un population fund and prohibits funds from being spent in contravention of the president's policy on protecting life in foreign assistance these measures uh alongside enhanced oversight and transparency insure that american taxpayer dollars do not fund abortions a policy that americans overwhelmingly support again i wanna thank all all of the members for your invaluable contributions to this bill uh i also mr. chairman wanna thank the staff of both sides of majority and minority uh they have been working frankly through the night uh and uh without them none of this would be possible with that mr. chairman i yield back

thank gentlemen for his remarks i'd now like to recognize miss frankel for remarks on the bill

thank you mr. chair and it's an honor to serve as the ranking member of this subcommittee

sorry

mike

i had i did push the wrong

oh good i pushed the wrong button sorry ok uh mr. chairman honored to uh serve alongside you and as ranking member of this subcommittee and i do appreciate the bipartisan tradition of our work mr. diaz-Vilar you are my friend and you are a delight to work with um we actually agree on a great deal but with that said we have real differences which we'll talk about today but i value that we can work through them without acrimony and i i hope that is a model for how we can conduct this congress i wanna thank um all the colleagues on both sides of the aisle we have a really terrific committee and i do i do enjoy working with all of you and uh finally you know i'm gonna despite very strong opposition to this bill i wanna thank our majority and minority staff who under intense pressure and too many sleepless nights help us put this package together uh now uh mr. chair this bill should be your moment to lead to live up to the mission of the national security and state department subcommittee because real security is not achieved with just bombs and bullying, and tariffs the apparent Real security is built with diplomacy, development, and humanitarian leadership. That's how we build alliances. That's how we grow trading partners. That's how we stop disease before it comes to our shore. And that's how we stop extremism. And that's how we prevent costly wars before they begin. Uh, done right, this bill will make America safer. But we are not there yet. And and let me just say this, we're marking up this bill without a hearing with the Secretary of State and without any assurances that the funds already approved are being used as intended. And now let's be honest about the backdrop. USAID hollowed out. Programs cancelled. Expertise pushed out the door. And now a weakened State Department is expected to carry out the full load, despite the fact it was never built to do so. And That is not strategy. This is a set-up for failure. Programs Congress directed and funded, food security, clean water, women's in- leadership are being ignored with no clear plan for implementation. The administration's cut to family planning, planning to have forced clinics to close, cut off access to contraception, and left millions of women without care. Nearly fourteen hundred clinics have shut down and nine million people have lost access to services. Health care workers rises rise in cases of hemorrhage, infection, unsafe abortions and preventable deaths. And in a stunning example of waste, eight million dollars worth of contraceptives already paid for by the American taxpayer were left to expire in a warehouse instead of being delivered to partners ready to distribute them. And that's not all. The in- in- administration's undermining undermining numerous tools of global health leadership. Despite bipartisan support for the organization, it has failed to release funds for GAVI, the vaccine alliance, a program that has helped prevent more than twenty million deaths since two thousand, all because of RFK's junior's anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. And now we are seeing coercive transactional tactics, dangling lifesaving health assistance in exchange for unrelated demands on trade and critical minerals. We're also told programs like Petfor are up and running, but on the ground life-saving medications are not reaching the people who need them. And this comes uh uh now a sweeping expansion of the global gag rule, which covers nearly all non-military assistance. And the consequences of all these decisions have been devastating. In just one year the cuts have led to over seven hundred fifty thousand deaths, eighty-eight lives every hour. Why malaria surges, HIV treatment is disrupted, and And the projections are even worse, up to twenty two million preventable deaths by twenty thirty. And what does all this mean? Listen to this folks. We are forcing women and girls in pregnancies they do they are not ready for, and then turning our backs on their children as they suffer and die from hunger and preventable disease. And it doesn't stop there. A funding meant to protect vulnerable people fleeing conflict is being used to advance cruel twist immigration agenda after ice rips people away from the communities they are being sent to places where they do not speak the language and know the culture this is not policy it is cruelty added together and this pulls back american leadership at exactly the wrong moment moment with another two point seven billion cut this year and we are uh investing fourteen billion dollars less than just four years ago and these reductions will weaken our diplomats dismantle development program slash humanitarian aid the lifeline that keeps millions alive and undermine global and security efforts that stop threats, before they reach our shores. And at the same time the president is requesting hundreds of billions for more for more war. But uh let me be clear, I I support a strong military. But as the mother of a marine who served in two wars, I know what's at stake, and like most Americans, we rather prevent war than have our loved ones fight in one. And that's why soft power is so essential. Diplomacy stops costly wars before they start. Global health programs stop outbreaks before they spread. Development reduces the desperation that fuels extremism. Alliances ensure that we do not face threats alone. That's how you keep America safe. Uh, but this bill abandons that strategy, eliminating funding for the United Nations and US peacekeeping, uh, uh, uh, you know, we could go on, a billion dollar cut for you monetarily aid, a cutting family planning, eliminating funding for UNFPA, uh zeroing out critical institutions like the US Institute of Peace, and the International American Foundation, and the UN uh African Foundation. That's not strength, it's retreat, and when we retreat China and other uh rivals step in, and we should not walk away from our leadership. This bear bill fails the test uh security at home depends on leadership abroad. Uh, I hope that we will do better as this bill moves along.

Thank you, gentlelady, for her remarks. I now recognize myself for remarks on the bill. Thank you, Chairman Diaz-Balart, and thank you, Ranking Member Frankel and Ranking Member Delora and all the members of this subcommittee and the full committee. We continue full committee markups today with fiscal year twenty twenty seven, national security, department of state, and related This legislation makes a clear statement about American leadership. We will engage where it matters. We will invest where it counts. And we will demand accountability for every dollar spent. On a world stage where challenges are growing and competitors are threatening the global order, this bill ensures the United States is not passive. It is prepared, it is focused, and it is leading. We are aligning our resources with our interests and delivering with a disciplined strategic approach that reflects us national priorities, upholds freedom and promotes economic opportunity. This is an important shift. No longer will optics drive policy. Results uh uh results will uh that set the standards for the American first agenda. Uh and it's also the standard chairman Mario Diaz-Belart has applied across this bill. The measure stands firmly with our friends, drawing a clear line against our adversaries it reinforces support for key allies like israel and taiwan and directly counters threats from communist china iran and other regimes that challenge our interests and principles at the same time it raises expectations for global partners to deliver measurable outcomes and demonstrate real performance america will always lead but strength always multiplies when others choose to match it the values we hold as a nation are put into action in this legislation we defend human rights we protect religious liberty we uphold long-standing pro-life safeguards and we align funding away from low impact efforts directing it toward missions that strengthen america's position at home and abroad there is a difference between stating our values and standing behind them chairman diaz-ballard has closed that gap replacing unfocused uh spending with a strategy that delivers strength clarity and results i thank him and ranking member frankel and the staff on both sides for their work i look forward to advancing this bill and completing today's work and with that i yield back i now recognize my very good friend the ranking member of the full committee miss delora for her opening remarks on the bill

thank you mr. chairman and uh uh mr. diaz-ballard uh stole some thunder here i was uh uh prepared uh, uh, really have the, uh, the assembled group sing for your birthday. So, and just say, today is the the day that the Lord has made, Mister, Mister Chairman, and happy birthday to you. Um, so I wanna say a thank you to Chairman Nies-Belart and Ranking Member, Frankl, uh, for their, uh, good work and, uh, for their friendship. Um, I also wanna say a thank you to subcommittee staff, Aaron Kolodziejski, Ed Hedstrom, uh, Laurie McNone on the minority side and the counterparts on the majority susan addams craig higgins jamie mccormick trey hicks john muscolini gabriella zach erin mcminniman and uh clelia alvarado as well for their work um i'm opposed to the bill under consideration today it cuts humanitarian assistance it slashes global health programs and threatens women's health it reneges on our commitments to our partners and surrenders influence to our adversaries president trump has stumbled from one foreign policy 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 costly, pointless, and ultimately illegal trade wars with some of our closest allies, which increased prices for American families by seventeen hundred dollars and isolated on the international stage. He dismantled USAID, severing severing lifelines of food and medical aid around the world. A recent study published in the Lancet medical journal predicted that if the current trend continues, the death toll from these cuts will exceed nine million by twenty-thirty, including two and a half million deaths of children younger. than five years old. The president repeatedly threatened to invade Greenland, which our closest NATO allies believe was serious enough to make 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 preventing no evidence. Experts in the law of war believe these strikes are likely to constitute war crimes. And he started a war with Iran, a war of choice, 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 a 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 institution devoted to global peace undermining the UN only erodes our global influence it also short changes American businesses who receive upwards of two point one billion dollars in UN contracts which is more than our dues this bill cuts

This is good.

funding for global health programs particularly in the areas of reproductive health and global health security making us more vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks that are Pandemics do not respect international borders. It is in our best interest to prevent and contain them before they reach our shores. But these cuts impede our ability to do that. The bill threatens women's health around the globe, blocking any funds from going to the UN population fund. UNFPA is dedicated to reducing maternal mortality, violence against women, and extending family planning to women and girls everywhere. This includes uh uh uh to include working to eliminate obstetric fistula, an issue I care deeply about. By failing to provide any funding for UNFPA, the conditions under which millions of women around the world live will only become worse. Eliminating this funding is a moral failure. This bill also eliminates all funding for the US Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, and the US African Development Foundation, each of these programs, strengthen our influence abroad, enabling us to prevent crises before they arise and build relationships with the next generation of global leaders. This bill surrenders American global influence to our adversaries. For every step backwards we take, they take a step forward, continually defunding the institutions that support America's international presence, will have serious, long-lasting consequences. In little more than a year, the Trump administration has squandered decades of American soft power, our ability to influence other countries without resorting to the use of force and risking military conflict. This bill hinders our ability to reclaim any of it for years to come. And we cannot forget that these steep cuts to American diplomatic efforts are being proposed before an increase of hundreds of billions of dollars, at least in defense spending. It is remarkable the distance between how much we are willing to

i thank gentlelady for her remarks uh the gentleman from michigan mr. molinar oh excuse me uh the distinguished chairman emeritus of the full committee is recognized for his remarks you're gonna have to wait

yeah

uh on the bill

thank you sir

mr. chairman

i want to uh thank chairman diaz-balart for including strong funding in this bill and resources to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the us we must wield every tool that we have to curb this influx of deadly substances into the country that that harm innocent Americans everyday killing our young people especially so uh i hope we utilize these funds mr. chairman uh in the most effective way that we can uh the bill also will continue strong support for israel uh and we adequately counter chinese aggression including uh five hundred million foreign military financing for taiwan to strengthen deterrence across the nai taiwan strait and fully funding the countering prc influence uh fund so i thank the chairman for including the language on finnish that's the deadliest scurs that this nation has ever seen and you and i are in a place to make improvements save lives especially young people it's up to you and me so i thank you mister chairman for doing the right thing you're back

thank you gentlemen for your remarks a distinguished gentleman from maryland s hoyer is recognized for remarks

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I wanna thank uh, both the chairman uh of the committee, who I know is very sincere in his objective to strengthen America. I I wanna thank Thank you, Mr. Alford. I wanna thank uh, the chairman as I said, and I certainly wanna thank the ranking member, Miss Frankel, for her leadership in bringing forward a bill that achieved for the most part, a bipartisan consensus on some of our issues but clearly as has been indicated by our ranking member and and our ranking member of the subcommittee i'm disappointed as i know they are in the reductions the majority included in this bill chiefly with regard to our support uh for ukraine i have introduced an amendment to address that and i'll speak about that at that time at present however let me just say that the people of ukraine and their leaders are not the only ones looking carefully level of support we include in this bill the kremlin is watching the chinese government is scrutinizing it as well let us be mindful of the signals we are sending to our adversaries and not just to our friends not only with respect uh to the military side but also with respect as to this to the area of where we need to give aid and help to people who are struggling in the world the soft uh weapons that we talk about. We can do better, we should do better, to ensure that Ukraine has all the resources needed to complete the liberation of its sovereign territory and to strike a blow against the forces of autocracy, and all would who would say, I just take what I want. The era of that history should be over. The rules-based international order led by America since the end of the Second World War, deliver the greatest period of peace and prosperity ever experienced. We must not retreat in our role of leadership in this area. If we wanna keep that going, it's up to us to lead in preserving that order. Ukraine is fighting to do just that. If they lose, we lose. If they win, so do we, as does the free world. I'm glad that this bill continues to robust by support for israel's security and the close us-israel security cooperation that delivers so many benefits to both our nations no matter what one's views are on the current politics in both the united states and israel ultimately our nation shares a bond that goes beyond politics or personalities it's about shared values and democratic ideals and our commitment to us-israel relationship is one that is rooted in a respect for history justice and the fight against global anti-semitism with regard to how this bill was brought forward i'm disappointed not only in the bill that i am the ranking member but this bill as well and as i understand it almost every other bill we consider where we have not had the hearings appropriate to give us the information uh that we need that lapse in my opinion weakens this bill and the other bills that we're considering but i wanna thank both chairman and ranking member and the staff who have worked hard on both sides for writing a bill that reflects what we've called an attempt at the psychology of consensus. We haven't reached it in this bill as the uh ranking member indicated, and the uh uh the ranking member of the full committee. That is, it's aimed towards reaching bipartisan agreement instead of toward furthering partisan. I know that the chairman and ranking member will continue down the road with this bill uh, as they complete this progress. This bill is close and and I hope we can improve and strengthen it. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank the gentleman for his remarks, gentleman from Michigan, Mister Molinar is recognized for his remarks on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and uh thanks for spending your birthday with us today. Um, I I rise in support of the fiscal year twenty twenty seven National Security and State Department Appropriations Bill. This legislature makes long overdue cuts to wasteful foreign aid while strengthening american national security and safeguarding our interests it will keep americans safe by countering our adversaries and supporting our allies specifically it provides five hundred million in military financing for taiwan four hundred million for the countering china's influence fund and thirty five million for the american institute of taiwan At the same time, crucial organizations like the Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation are robustly funded to combat China's Belt and Road Initiative. This sends a clear message to the world that we stand by our allies against Chinese Communist Party's malign actions. I want to thank Chairman Diaz-Balart for his leadership in crafting this legislation, and I urge all our colleagues to support this bill. With that, I yield back.

Thank the gentleman for his remarks, the gentlelady from Ohio, Miss Capiter is recognized for her remarks on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and happy birthday from this end of the table. Um Chairman Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Diaz-Belart and Ranking Member Frankl, thank you for your hard work on this bill. Our focus today on our nation's role uh as Liberty's North Star in a complicated world is not it is vital. Like many Americans, let me express my deep concerns about the perception uh by our nation uh of our nation's um overall retreat from our allies uh in freedom's cause. Even alienating Canada, really, my district adjoins Canada, our largest trading partner. What the United States does, or does not do diplomatically, sends clear messages. Meanwhile, America's adversaries are on the march. A prime example, Russia's invasion, brutal, brutal invasion of Ukraine and its continuing brutality on Ukraine's people reminds us of Vladimir Putin's obsession to restore the tyranny of the former Soviet Union to territories that formerly were held hostage to dictatorships all across Europe. allies. Now is not the time to capitulate to repression, isolationism and indeed war as the ultimate abandonment of reason. The United States must not abandon its leadership and participation in international organizations and free world alliances and forums and seed leadership to what I view as a complex global forming spider web of tyranny that links Russia to the end of the world. North Korea, Iranian and Chinese interests. Imperfect though our nation can appear, our steady efforts to engage former adversaries was must not be abandoned. Slow progress toward world peace and the institutions that shape that peace took major strides forward following World Wars one and two. I would guess most of our families in those wars. Mine certainly did. But it ushered in a new era, and we must not cast off the relationships that have worked. Direct foreign assistance represents about under two percent of US expenditures that create liberty's alliance that has endured for half a century in achieving peace among great powers. That is an enormous testament to sacrifice and to our history. Tangentially, I took great offense

Yeah.

uh globally when the administration found twenty billion dollars to gift to Argentina to send foreign beef up here as America's farmers, including some I represent, are suffering from tariffs and seeing costs rise for everything, fuel, fertilizer, and unaffordable health insurance for families that I represent. I think about what's happening globally in our position. The United States once created goodwill around the world and soft power protects Americans every day when they travel, like most of us do, helps American businesses find global customers, and yet this administration chose to start a trade war with our allies and cut aid to those most in need. A Pew study last year found that America's global image among people in high income countries nose-dived under this administration to the point where only one in three have a favorable view of the United States. You know what? That's the same as China. I will say I'm glad to see continued support for funding the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission in all of this. Canada is Ohio's largest trading partner, accounting for one hundred thousand in the Buckeye State alone, and twenty-one billion dollars worth of Ohio goods sent annually to our neighbor to the north, and our ally to the north. This critical partnership, and I say friendship, has been built on trust and the harm done to our relationship with our Canadian neighbors through reckless tariffs, threats of aggression and constant criticism will take time to repair. This is an important step through the fisheries commission toward healing, and I hope it sets the tone for broader reconciliation. This bill includes fifteen million dollars for locating and returning Ukrainian children, over twenty thousand, abducted by Russia and Belarus, and with tens of thousands of stolen children from their homes in Ukraine by Russia, and placed in camps where they are being re-educated and trained to fight against their own country. Russia is committing a massive war crime against humanity reminds us of the darkest moments of the twentieth century, turning history backwards. Returning thousands of these children must be an absolute priority of this country. And ensuring that those children have a safe home to return to, I regret that this bill does little to support our Ukrainian allies. After Ukrainians came to our aid in the Middle East to help protect Americans from Iranian, Shahid drones, which were aided by Russia, we owe it to our partners to come to their defense. In closing, we prevent war by promoting diplomacy and international understanding. That is our job. Fulfilled by this patriotic, talented public servants that serve in foreign affairs agencies. The current administration is trying to defund diplomacy, to pay for more wars, and a reckless Pentagon budget of one point five trillion dollars, not counting the hundreds of billions the president is is asking for more. This is not a recipe for American success. At home, i do not support this bill is written thank you and i yield back

thank general lady general lady from minnesota miss collins recognize her opening remarks on the bill

in an honor of your birthday i did a little research everyone has his day and some days last longer than others what's to churchill may this day last as long as you want it to

thank you

um on on a on a different note though right now i cannot support this uh bill as as it's presented in in front of us um so i rise in opposition but i hope hope things change along the way mister chair um it is deeply unfortunate that this bill continues president trump's retreat from strong american diplomacy in the world and supporting developmental assistance we know what happens when america uh retreats from developing world poverty malnutrition disease takes hold and then transnational terrorism. And our adversaries, China and Russia, they move in to fill the void. This is a national security threat, clear and simple, when we're not engaged. This uh bill is a staggering twelve billion dollars below where the bill was two years ago. That's a twenty percent cut. And I'm particularly heartbroken about the funding to global health initiatives, which is used to be a strong way in which we rally together. for bipartisan support. And it created a lot of pride in this institution. Democrats and Republicans, we stood together to save lives, America save lives. And we did that because it reflected our values. We did that because we knew it made the world a safer place. The funding last year we invested in global health security, preparedness, outbreak, epi epi epidemic response. That's not charity. That's an early warning system for each one of us. is an insurance while this bill chips away at that insurance set early warning system simply uh rejecting this administration's proposed cuts would not be enough though american diplomats used to walk in to negotiations with credibility because the united states had a track record of showing up and keeping its word but sadly that's changed with many of the things that have been cut and underfunded The baseline has shifted so dramatically that we've lost sight of what this bill supported. It supported a child in Mozambique who won't get any malaria net or treatment because, well, we're not doing that program anymore. Or a woman Honduras who can farm for her community because our government invested in a global agricultural development, which was also heavily invested in by our private sector. These are just a couple of programs that saved lives. And at the same time they improved our national security. We can and must do better. And for that, I yield my colleagues to keep working on this bill to improve it, so when it comes back, whether to the floor or from conference, it is something I can proudly support. With that, I yield back.

Thank you, gentlelady, for your remarks. Gentlelady from Florida, Miss Washington-Schultz, is recognized for remarks on the bill.

i thank the gentlemen for yielding mr. chairman wishing you the happiest birthdays as someone who very much loves my birthday i uh i i cheer you we don't want there to be a on your day yes i think we could all agree we wanna put a bow on that for you mr. chairman um i wanna specially single out uh the chairman of the subcommittee uh mr. diaz-Balart who is my compatriot and someone who i have fought in the trenches with on so many of the issues that are embedded in this bill i particularly wanna thank him for and this will shorten it shorten my uh need to so i can avoid speaking on the manager's amendment and thank him up front for uh and the and the ranking member for including the very important language with specificity in the manager's amendment to ensure that the oil revenue that is spent in venezuela uh related to uh president trump's executive order that we are able to hold the administration accountable on how that is spent and that those revenues are used to benefit the venezuelan people and not line the pockets of extremely wealthy people so thank you very much for that um uh i uh do have elements of this uh bill that i support but unfortunately i must stand in opposition to the overall bill uh our nation is really at a dangerous juncture We're embroiled in a war that Congress never voted to authorize. We're increasingly seen by our allies as a threat rather than a reliable partner. We've abandoned efforts to remediate unnecessary suffering and make the world a healthier place. And it's caused hundreds of thousands of needless deaths along the way. Even the bedrock investments we made over generations to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law have fallen by the wayside. President Trump has given up our seat at the table. He put down the torch of liberty. past presidents carried proudly, all so he can glad hand dictators and stuff his family pockets, family's pockets with corrupt profits. All the while working Americans get poorer. And unfortunately, Americans feel the direct result of this, his chaotic decisions on tariffs, immigration, and military action. It pinches their pocketbook every time they fill up their gas tank or check out at a grocery store. And this bill unfortunately does nothing to reverse the Trump administration's policy of self-sabotage. It does nothing. to repair the damage done the lives lost from dismantling usaid and replacing experts at the state department with partisan cronies it does nothing to curtail the trump administration separating cuban and haitian people from their us citizen kids then paying for them to be jailed without trials in sub-saharan africa before ripping our international program to programs to shreds secretary rubio said he'd assess foreign assistance based on if it's made us stronger safer or more prosperous so allow me to grade this administration by their own standards. Our nation is not stronger. Our diplomatic corps has been hollowed out and our moral authority has been sapped. Our allies look elsewhere for support because they cannot count on us. Trump's unilateral concessions to the same Venezuelan regime he once called a terrorist organization, have shown his contempt for democracy and given every dictator a playbook to exploit his weaknesses. So no, we are not stronger. Is our nation safer? Well, Trump's war in Iran has left our troops and our allies more instead of resolving chaos in Haiti or uplifting democracy in Venezuela, he's focusing on deporting good, law abiding people back to further destabilize countries in crisis. His attacks on democracy have blurred the line that sets us apart from our adversaries, and that has a cost. Do we really want to present the world a choice between a cruel transactional predictable China and a cruel transactional volatile America? So no, clearly we are not all safer. Finally, we are clear not clearly not more prosperous. The State Department was the epicenter of the doge assault on our government, and it didn't even make a tiny dent in the deficit. However, Trump's backwards trade in economic policies, putting billionaires in corrupt deals over working Americans, have left left us all paying more for less. And so far the only nations getting richer off of Trump's misguided war are Iran, Russia and Venezuela,

Mm.

all of whom were rewarded for their brutal brutal despotism with jaw-dropping So no, we are not safer, stronger or more prosperous. And this bill not only fails to put us on the right track, it guarantees our security will go off the rails. This bill is not a course correction, it is an accelerant. Congress passed a bipartisan foreign ops bill just three months ago. That was a step in the right direction. But this administration refuses to faithfully implement the funds Congress appropriated. Just last week we learned they're withholding eighteen billion dollars in foreign assistance, that this committee enacted and Trump signed. look we're already trillions in the hole from the big ugly bill and i can't imagine a worse prescription than a blank check for an unchecked executive it's even more galling when you consider that money comes out of the mouths of desperate starving children a safe america requires diplomacy and investments a strong america requires faithful alliances strong principles and fierce resistance to our adversaries a more prosperous america requires stable markets open trade and healthy communities and all these things rely on the bedrock of democracy human rights and the rule of law If we forget these basic truths that underline or underlie our nation's rise to greatness, we will surely fall from grace. And this bill unfortunately does not pass that test, despite my affection for the chairman. And uh, and also I commend to you the sourdough bread home baked by my youngest daughter, and wish you a wonderful mark-up. I thank you, Mister Chairman, I yield back.

Thank you, gentlelady. Uh, gentleman from Texas, Mister Cuellar is recognized for opening uh my breath

thank you mr. chairman and happy birthday again uh want to thank uh the uh chairman uh mister mario diaz-barlet the ranking uh member also miss frankl and of course miss uh delara also and and you mr. chairman also i um wanna highlight four areas in this bill that i think are important

ok