▶ 0:02:36the the uh subcommittee will come to I'd like to welcome everyone for today's uh fiscal year 2026 subcommittee markup of the very first national security department of state and related programs appropriations bill.
▶ 0:02:53Let me start uh by thanking Chairman Cole for his essential leadership at the helm of the appropriations committee and for his wisdom in refocusing this subcommittee starting starting by changing the name to better reflect the investments made on behalf of the American people uh which are to advance the national security interest of the United States.
▶ 0:03:18I also want to thank ranking member Frankle as well as ranking member Delora and all the members of the subcommittee for your partnership in developing this important bill. The bill before us today delivers on President Trump's America First agenda. First and foremost, by drastically reducing spending, funding is cut by 22% from the enacted level.
▶ 0:03:45The greatest threat, the greatest threat to our national to our country's stability and security is our debt. And this bill dramatically but responsibly reigns in spending. These cuts are in addition to the 6% cut achieved in the final enacted version of the fiscical year 24 state and foreign operations act which was carried forward in the CR.
▶ 0:04:15The bill prioritizes our national security especially in the Western Hemisphere, the Middle East and the Indoacific. It provides unwavering unwavering support for Israel and fully funds the United States Israel memorandum of understanding by providing $3.3 billion in security assistance to allow Israel to defend herself from existential Other key partners and allies in the Middle East such as Egypt and Jordan
▶ 0:04:45are strongly supported. The bill includes funding and conditions to confront the national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, including through a new provision that prohibits support for academic institutions partnering in STEM programs with PRC or the CCP controlled colleges in communist China and continues to pro to prohibit foreign assistance from being used to repay loans
▶ 0:05:16to the PRC. C 500 million in foreign military financing is provided for Taiwan and strong support is is provided for other key partners in the Indoacific such as the Philippines and the Pacific island This bill continues important investments to combat the trafficking of fentinel and the transnational criminal organizations behind the scourge of drug addiction confronting every
▶ 0:05:46community in America. The bill makes clear that those countries who are not willing to cooperate on issues of direct importance to Americans will be held accountable. The days of a weak American foreign policy are over.
▶ 0:06:06The bill cuts or withholds aid to countries that are no longer advancing shared interest such as Colombia to the due due to pro the Petro administration's frankly abject failures in preventing political violence, creating e economic deterioration and emboldering emboldering uh transnational criminals.
▶ 0:06:29South Africa unless they seize cooperation with our adversaries and uphold the rule of law and Mexico until they meet the requirements on the water deliveries to the United States in accordance with the terms of the 1944 water treaty.
▶ 0:06:49The bill also blocks assistance to anyone who supports finances or facilitates the operations of the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces or Ministry of the Interior. I am grateful I am very grateful that President Trump and Secretary Rubio use language I included in the fiscal year 2024 bill to sanction the anti-American thugs in the Cuban regime who work closely with America's adversaries.
▶ 0:07:19The bill upholds the United Nations and other international organizations accountable. It holds the bill holds the UN and other international organizations accountable and brings greater scrutiny to the actions of member states, including their voting records at the United Nations in determining the allocation of funds.
▶ 0:07:43No 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 known as ENRA, the United uh Nations Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice.
▶ 0:08:07Furthermore, the bill includes a new provision that demands justice for victims murdered uh in the October 7th terrorist attack, including American citizens, by requiring full accountability, full accountability for UNRA staff involved in that vicious These are just a few of the examples of what America first foreign policy looks like in this bill.
▶ 0:08:36But there's a lot more. The bill prohibits funds for controversial or ineffective programs that Americans don't support and our allies and partners don't need. The bill supports full implementation of key executive orders that reflect a clear commitment to the national sovereignty, the security of our borders, limited government and American values, including those related to restoring free speech and ending censorship,
▶ 0:09:06ending DEI programs, and many others. The bill creates the America first opportunity fund which will enhance United States leverage abroad and enable a rapid response uh to any potential crisis. It al it also creates the national security investment program account a new account that facilitates efficient strategic uh deployment of programs that support United States national security interests together.
▶ 0:09:37this rep priorita re rep prioritation Mr. German, there's my uh English uh barrier. You see that? That's right. Uh again, of of of resources ensures that our foreign policy is focused on making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
▶ 0:09:58Now, critically important, the bill maintains all long-standing pro-life provisions alongside enhanced oversight and transparency transparency measures to ensure that American taxpayer dollars do not fund abortions, a policy that Americans overwhelmingly Let me now go back to the numbers, um, which I mentioned the beginning. The bill is a 22% cut below the fiscical year 25 enacted level.
▶ 0:10:30We are laser focused on reigning in years of outofcontrol wasteful spending that characterized the previous administration. Let's face it, it was no secret to any of us that the previous administration was funding controversial, wasteful programs and even programs that were actually harmful harmful to our national security. We debated those issues extensively during our markups.
▶ 0:10:59However, the previous administration continued funding these controversial projects which lead to the American people losing faith in our foreign assistance. I put prohib uh prohibitions in this bill to address these disres just dis disgraceful activities and to try to reassure taxpayers that their money would be spent to defend our national security interests.
▶ 0:11:29Prohibitions on drug shows, DEI hiring, on funding CCP laboratories. Uh now at the time you might some of you might recall those prohibitions in the previous bill were criticized. Now now it seems that we all agree that they should have never been there in the first place.
▶ 0:11:49Throughout this process, the goal is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, represent our constituents priorities and foreign assistance, and above all and above all, to protect United States national security. This bill would not be what it is without the valuable input from each member each member of this subcommittee.
▶ 0:12:19Your thoughtful recommendations uh really have shaped the measure before you and I am grateful for your contributions. Now before I close, I also want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. They have worked weekends day night. They have not stopped working and we can never thank them enough.
▶ 0:12:42I would now like to recognize my friend, my Florida uh colleague and the ranking member of the subcommittee, Miss Frankle, for her remarks. You're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and uh let me start by recognizing your collegiality and also the thoughtful members on both sides of the aisle. Uh and I also want to thank the dedicated staff uh the committee staff, my own team for their hard work and guidance.
▶ 0:13:11It's an honor to serve as the ranking member of this committee. But above all, I want to express my deep gratitude to the public servants who bring American values to life around the world. Diplomats, development professionals, and humanitarian workers. They have served and have served some of the most dangerous and difficult places on Earth. many who recently are forced out of their jobs, dismissed without cause or ceremony.
▶ 0:13:39To those who have served and to those still standing, you are patriots. You represent the best of who we are and we owe you more than thanks. We also owe you the tools to do your job. Uh Mr. chair, with the right allocation and a White House that actually valued diplomacy, development, and humanitarianism, I believe we could have crafted a strong bipartisan measure worthy of our nation's leadership.
▶ 0:14:10Instead, I rise in fierce opposition to the Republican FY26 State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Bill, a reckless, shortsighted blueprint for American And it follows a deeply troubling pattern. The White House has illegally impounded foreign aid, dismantled US aid, gutted the State Department, all without input from Congress. More than 10,000 USID staff were dismissed.
▶ 0:14:41Over 5,000 aid programs were axed. And just last week, 1300 State Department employees were let go. Entire offices eliminated. And all this in the middle of of a global convergence of crisises, armed conflicts, climate disasters, health emergencies, famine, mass migration, and rising authoritarianism. This is not theoretical. These crises are slamming into us.
▶ 0:15:08When fragile states collapse, migration surges. When we cannot uh when we cancel trade support, American farmers and manufacturers lose customers. When we fa fail to build climate resilience, homes and crops are washed away. When global health systems fail, disease reaches our shores. And when the United States pulls back, China and Russia are right there to take our place.
▶ 0:15:38And worse still, our closest allies allies pressured to increase military spending are also cutting their foreign aid. So, as global needs explode, the soft power of democratic nations is vanishing and the vacuum left behind is going to be filled by regimes that don't share our values or interests.
▶ 0:16:02This bill slashes international affairs funding by 22%, a$1 13 billion in deep, devastating cuts. It guts development and economic support. Children pulled from classrooms and left without clean water. Farmers cut off from tools that feed communities. Young entrepreneurs abandoned fueling extremism and instability. Conflict prevention programs eliminated so violence erupts unchecked. Local organizations, our most trusted partners, shut down.
▶ 0:16:33It cuts humanitarian assistance by 42%. That's not just unwise, it's inhumane. Women and girls in conflict zones left without care after suffering horrific sexual violence. Refugees denied shelter, medicine, and hope. Food ration slashed below survival li levels in places like Syria, Sudan, and Bangladesh. And millions of children dying from malnutrition. This bill is cruel.
▶ 0:17:03It's cold. And it is not who we are. And of course, Republicans couldn't resist another attack on women, reviving the global gag rule, gutting funding for the UN population fund, and shortch changing family planning programs that save lives and lift up communities. This bill also abandons multi internal international institutions like the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
▶ 0:17:30It sidelines the United States from global decisionmaking, weakens our ability to promote peace and defend allies. It for forces partners into the arms of authoritarian regimes and forfeits the power of burden sharing through institutions like UNICEF, the World Bank and the UN. And it is putting in charge of the world. And let me be blunt. These these cuts are not abstract. They're they're deadly.
▶ 0:17:59In Nigeria, maln malnourishing infants are dying because a therapeutic food deliveries have stopped. In Myiramar, hospitals are shutting their doors in the middle of a conflict. In Gambia, programs to support survivors of female gen mutilation have been halted just as the country debates relegalizing the practice. And in Ukraine, wounded soldiers are going to go without care. In Afghanistan, pregnant women are being turned away from clinics.
▶ 0:18:27and Ecuador, women enterpreneurs stripped of support are being pushed towards our border. This isn't just a loss of aid. It's a loss of American credibility, a loss of moral authority, a loss of global influence, and it's going to cost us dearly. And why should American people care? Because when we fail to lead with compassion and common sense, the world becomes less stable. Our troops face more danger.
▶ 0:18:56And we pay the price again and again. When we cut aid, we risk increased war. When we defund development, we undercut diplomacy. And we turn when we turn our back on the world. We endanger our own. And I I I speak as the proud mother, a US Marine veteran. I know many of the members here have have also served our country. And I know we know what happens when diplomacy fails.
▶ 0:19:25When we fail to prevent conflict with education, aid, and engagement, the burden falls on the Pentagon and on families whose loved ones serve in the military. And let's remember, the entire international affairs budget has typically been less than 1% of federal spending, but it delivers exponential return for our safety, prosperity, and moral standing. These programs give youth an alternative to violence.
▶ 0:19:55They build markets for American goods. They prevent wars. They reduce migration pressures. They keep our troops home. And this bill sadly is a missed opportunity. A failure to lead. A failure to invest in the power of peace, progress, and partnership. But let me end with this. Uh Mr. Chair and my colleagues, Democrats are not giving up.
▶ 0:20:18We stand ready to work with our Republican colleagues to fight for a bill that reflects our values or honors our commitments and protects American lives. A sustained path to a safer, stronger, more prosperous nation cannot be built on isolation and threats alone. Because we cannot bomb our way to peace. We cannot drone our way to stability. And we cannot retreat our way to safety. A strong America leads not with fear but with courage.
▶ 0:20:46not by pulling back but by reaching out and that is the bill we should all be fighting for. And with that I yield back. Thank the ranking member. Uh let me before recognizing the chairman of the appropriations committee let me thank him for his support his confidence uh and all his help. It's an honor to recognize the chairman of the full committee uh Mr. Tom Cole. Well thank you chairman Diaz Bolard and I want to thank Ranking Member Frankle.
▶ 0:21:15Certainly my friend ranking member Delora the full committee and all the members of the committee for being with us this morning. Before I enter my formal remarks, I want to make uh one quick observation to my friend the chairman of the subcommittee.
▶ 0:21:29Uh while you were very flattering and kind in saying that somehow I had renamed and redirected the committee, I think we all know the the source of that was you and I want to congratulate you on refocusing the committee and frankly uh anchoring it very firmly in the defense of our interests uh the promotion of our values around the world uh and doing it in a financially responsible way. It's an exceptional performance.
▶ 0:21:59I'm proud of the bill and very proud of you as the chairman. U our work on today's fiscal year 2026 National Security Department of State and related programs appropriations bill is a critically important step toward building a renewed and sharpened approach to United States foreign policy while also responsibly reducing spending. The legislation makes clear that we will not retreat from the cause of freedom.
▶ 0:22:26This bill prioritizes our national security through robust support of our allies and through stronger efforts to counter our adversaries. It supports essential efforts to advance democracy and defend human rights as well as confront adversarial regimes like the Chinese Communist Party, the terrorist financiers of Iran uh and the repressive Russian Federation.
▶ 0:22:50It reaffirms our steadfast support for our great ally Israel as they fight for their existence amidst terror and evil. And it supports important religious freedom programs abroad and maintains longstanding bipartisan pro-life protections. This measure realign our foreign assistance to prioritize high impact programs while also eliminating wasteful spending by strengthening oversight to prevent fraud and abuse.
▶ 0:23:17As we enhance and refocus America's leadership in the world, we ensure that Americans are safer at home and abroad without compromising fiscal responsibility. I thank Chairman Diaz Bolard, Ranking Member Frankle, and the majority and minority staff for their hard work. I look forward to consideration of this bill, which reflects a commitment to freedom and democracy. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:23:43Now always a pleasure to recognize a distinguished member uh of the committee and obviously the ranking member of the full committee uh congressman. Thank you. Thank you so much to my good friend Chairman Diaz Bollard and good friend Chairman Cole and ranking member Frankle. Uh I do want to share my appreciation for the sub the subcommittee staff both sides of the aisle.
▶ 0:24:07In particular, uh, I want to shout out Erin Kajeski, Lori Mcnon, and And while I have the highest regard for my colleagues and friendship with them, I must oppose the bill before us today, which in my view dismantles American diplomacy and soft power, abdicates American leadership, yields the global stage to China and Russia, threatens women's health, and abandons people around the world.
▶ 0:24:38Never mind that we never received a complete budget from the White House. We are holding this markup in a completely unprecedented time with the Congress's authority being challenged by a lawless Since taking office, President Trump's administration has stolen resources, resources appropriated by this committee passed by Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate for programs and services across the federal government, including several in
▶ 0:25:08this bill that protect and promote American interests and security around the world. Instead of being laser focused on the cost of living crisis, President Trump and Republicans are making it worse. Their big ugly bill is handing massive tax breaks to the wealthy and to corporations while driving up the cost of living for hardworking Americans.
▶ 0:25:32All while the administration empowers billionaires and dismantles agencies and programs that save lives and protect our national security. President Trump is aggressively pursuing an America last agenda that will not only see America become weaker, more isolated, and more ostracized. It is actively devastating impoverished regions and causing tragic preventable deaths around the world.
▶ 0:26:01They empowered Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire who orchestrated the evisceration of USID and a freeze on program saving the lives of vulnerable people around the planet. Food grown by American farmers for people on the verge of famine already on ships was halted. Administration of life-saving treatments for diseases was stopped.
▶ 0:26:28Partnerships nurtured over decades to improve people's well-being were severed. Make no mistake, children will die because of these cuts today and in the future. It is despicable. It is shameful and it is a stain on our nation that may never be fully erased. The funding freeze was made under the guise of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. But the American farmers who feed millions around the world are not waste.
▶ 0:26:59And the human lives they support are not either. I'm all for finding and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. Something Inspectors General Richardson and Martin at State and USAD, respectively, were tasked with doing before they were illegally purged in the dead of night. And we are still waiting for these claims of waste to be brought forward.
▶ 0:27:24And just last week, the purges of our diplomatic corps continued at the Department of State, where career nonpartisan staff who dedicated their lives to advancing American interests and who hold a wealth of irreplaceable knowledge and relationships were fired. If if you were China or Russia, you would want to weaken America. What would you do This self-destruction is inexplicable.
▶ 0:27:54unfathomable and unexplainable and It may be easy for some people to look the other way and assume that these cuts are only inflicting harm on the other side of the world, but this affects all of our constituents. In New Haven, Connecticut's Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, or Iris brings hope and builds community in my district. They selflessly help refugees and immigrants navigate their lawful.
▶ 0:28:23These are folks who are vetted. They are here lawfully, their lawful presence and build their lives in America where they can be free from oppression, free from destitution, free to become an important part of their country's fabric and economy. But President Trump's order freezing grants for refugee resettlement agencies across America is throwing the integrated uh refugee and immigrant services or Iris and the lives of the refugees into chaos.
▶ 0:28:54Iris's director said, and I quote, "I work alongside Afghans who supported US forces came to the United States a few years ago and they're still waiting for family to come. some of them were expecting travel orders for their family at any time. All of that stopped." End quote. Snubbing our allies, turning our back to the world does not make us strong. It makes us weak.
▶ 0:29:23It makes us an unreliable ally and an untrustworthy partner. Unfortunately, this bill doubles down on this America last agenda. It flashes humanitarian assistance by more than a third and foreign assistance by over Creating a soft power vacuum that China is eager to exploit.
▶ 0:29:47And worse, the bill scapegoats our international partners, UN agencies, and NOS that deliver life-saving aid to the most vulnerable people around the globe. organizations, yes, like UNRA, which this bill targets for political points, will be destroyed, making it harder to do the critical work and leaving children and families in Gaza and other places and around the world to starve
▶ 0:30:18and to die. When we are helping impoverished communities and nations treating diseases, when we are feeding starving children in conflict zones, when we help ensure villages have drinkable water, we are using and gaining soft power. We do these things because of our generosity. We also do these things because they are in our own interest. They built influence our global standing and strengthen our national security.
▶ 0:30:47When we retreat from the global stage, China and Russia fill in the gaps and the world becomes a more dangerous place. Whose name is on that sack of flower? Whose name is on the door of the clinic? Whose name is on the school book? The United States of America. And it must remain that way.
▶ 0:31:10This bill puts women and children at risk by prohibiting funding for the United Nations Population Fund, slashing support for bilateral family planning and responses to gender-based violence, cutting over 300 million from programs that improve maternal and child health and fight infectious diseases.
▶ 0:31:31And this bill surrenders our efforts to combat the climate crisis, eliminating support for climate adaptability, clean energy, ignoring the nexus between climate, conflict, and migration, jeopardizing the safety and the security of our children, our grandchildren, and every generation to follow.
▶ 0:31:50I cannot support this bill and I will not stop fighting to protect America's interests and against this administration's dangerous dangerous dismantling of our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts across the world and I yield back. Let me thank the ranking member. Do any other members uh wish uh to make remarks on the bill? Yes, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:32:20Uh, I will also be speaking in opposition to this bill. Republicans came into power promising to lower costs for working families across our country. Instead, they are raising c costs across the board by cutting programs that help the most vulnerable in America and around the world. All to cut taxes for the rich.
▶ 0:32:44We saw it two weeks ago with the big ugly bill which threw millions of Americans off health care and food assistance. We are seeing it again this week in the Senate with an ugly recisions package that threatens some of the core pillars of American foreign assistance. This bill is no different. It cuts our national security budget, which was already underfunded, by another 22%.
▶ 0:33:11A full 13 billion dollars below 2025 levels, which were already 20 billion under 2023 levels. At a time when humanitarian needs around the world continue to grow, this bill instead cuts almost 4 billion from humanitarian assistance, abandoning millions of people around the world in their time of greatest need, especially women and girls.
▶ 0:33:39This bill also hurts women and girls by banning funding to the UN population fund, slashing funds for life-saving international family planning programs, and codifying the Trump administration's expanded global gag rule. But more than that, this bill just doesn't make sense. Republicans have spent the past six months saying our foreign assistance didn't have enough oversight, that US aid went rogue.
▶ 0:34:06But this bill provides $23 million less than last year to oversee foreign assistance. This bill keeps funding for many, but not all of our global health programs at 2025 levels. It even funds PEPFAR at 3.3 billion above the president's request. You might even think Republicans want to keep our global health program strong.
▶ 0:34:32But just a few weeks ago, the House passed a bill that cut these very same programs, not just PEPAR, by 900 million. And it's the same story for so many other programs from women's empowerment to WASH, dedicating resources to them in theory, but in practice, gutting the infrastructure and people who make them possible.
▶ 0:34:55And without any additional guard rails that make clear to this administration that these dollars must be spent as Congress directs, what gives any of us confidence that the administration won't just ignore this bill if it's passed? This bill abandons US leadership on the world stage and at the United Nations, threatens women's health globally, and would make the US less safe, less strong, and less prosperous.
▶ 0:35:24It also reinforces this administration's reckless and illegal gutting of development and humanitarian programs by failing to stand up for the State Department, USAD, and the people who make American power possible. For those reasons, I sadly cannot support it today. Thank you, and I yield back. Thank you. Um, Mr.
▶ 0:35:48Alfred, you're Well, thank you uh Mr. Chair and ranking member uh for this opportunity to speak on this important bill. I for one am very proud of the work that we have done on uh many issues in a bipartisan manner for this bill particularly when it comes to PEPAR uh the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief.
▶ 0:36:12One of America's most impactful global health initiatives launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush. PEPAR marked an historic commitment to combat HIV AIDS, the largest by any nation to address a single disease.
▶ 0:36:29With over 110 billion invested, PEPAR has saved more than 26 million lives, provided antiviral treatments to 20.6 million people, and prevented 5.5 million babies from being born with HIV. It has supported 83.8 8 million HIV tests, 327,000 health workers, building robust health systems in more than 50 different countries, particularly in subsaharan Africa.
▶ 0:36:59Programs like Dreams have cut new HIV diagnosis among adolescent girls by up to 40% in targeted areas. Beyond HIV, PEPAR has strengthened global health security, aiding responses to other diseases which threaten our national security.
▶ 0:37:15Our subcommittee plays a critical role funding PEPFAR through annual appropriations and we must ensure that funding continue to protect these gains until we can wean the programs off the American taxpayers and we are doing that through this bill.
▶ 0:37:36That is why we are directing the state department to develop a clear country-led transition plan that will empower partnering nations to sustain programs aligning with local health systems and global partners like the global fund. This ensures long-term success without reversing the decades of success and progress that we have seen. PEPAR embodies American compassion and leadership.
▶ 0:38:04It strengthens our global security and our diplomacy. So, I encourage this committee to continue to work together to guide a responsible transition plan to save lives and secure a healthier future. Mr. Chair, I yield Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Quigley, you're recognized, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, uh, I want to thank you and the chairman of the full committee for our ability to work so well together. We appreciate that.
▶ 0:38:35But uh despite the committee's decision to rename the subcommittee, the National Security Subcommittee, the bill in front of us today actually makes us less safe, our troops less safe, our embassy staff across the world, and our allies uh less safe. In FDR's last inaugural, he uh he who had fought the isolationist um and understood what isolationism meant in 1939.
▶ 0:39:05He spoke and said um we have learned what happens over there affects us over here. He also said that uh we have learned that to have a friend you need to be a friend.
▶ 0:39:20Uh I I think the actions taken by the administration and reflected in this uh including tariffs against our closest allies means that we will have far fewer friends and as a result uh we will be less safe. U the bill officially dismantles USAD. Uh it defends international emergency and refugee assistance.
▶ 0:39:47It reduces investments in PEPAR and reduces maternal and child health funding with cuts to family planning. Withdraws support for women's global health programs through the United Nations and other agencies. These cuts include 362 million used to help women and children fight infectious diseases. The front lines on the next uh pandemic aren't at New York or in California. They were across the sea.
▶ 0:40:18The bill goes even further to ban supporting the WHO and UNFPA organizations whose fundings are critical to keeping women and girls safe. It also cuts funding for the environment and cons conservation efforts including wildlife trafficking. It also blocks funding to the clean technology fund and the green climate fund. It prevents the US from enforcing enacting any provisions of the Paris agreement. It's a major setback to our handling of the glo global climate crisis.
▶ 0:40:48It's hard to believe that the issue of uh climate change is hardly in the news today because there are so many other issues the agents of chaos have brought forth. As the climate disasters worsen, it would only become more clear on how closely these issues are all connected. Early this summer, a peer-reviewed study in the Lancet estimated that USAD programs has saved over 90 million lives since the year 2000.
▶ 0:41:15They also estimate that the president's cuts to USA will lead to over 14 million deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children under the age of five. The cuts to this bill will decimate life-saving programs and lead to countless preventable deaths. Across the world, our adversaries, namely Russia and China, are stepping up where we are pulling out.
▶ 0:41:40For many countries and regions, our international aid programs are the primary way they interact with the US. When we cut these ties, we lose relationships and in some cases push our allies toward our adversaries. I oppose this bill from a humanitarian perspective and from a national security perspective, as is so often the case. The right thing to do, the moral thing to do is also the smart thing to do.
▶ 0:42:08But frankly, under the current this bill doesn't matter. The Trump administration has decided that they can follow or ignore our appropriation bills at their discretion. and the recisions bill hurtling through the Senate would upend so many of these programs that we funded in a bipartisan vote just months ago until my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle decide to stand up to the administration and reclaim the power of the purse which was designated to us in article one of the
▶ 0:42:38constitution. This is all frankly a rhetorical exercise. Thank you and I yield back. I thank the gentleman looking on this side over here. Uh Mr. Doris, you're recognized. Um thank you, chairman. America was uh built on a simple promise, freedom over tyranny. We don't fund dictators. We don't abandon our citizens to torture chambers.
▶ 0:43:05That promise is being shredded before our very own eyes. This administration is actively strengthening relationships with regimes that partner with terrorist organizations. This bill isn't diplomacy. It is a blank check for bribes, black site deals, and backroom payouts to authoritarians such as El Salvador's President Bugle.
▶ 0:43:33a man who our own justice department alleges has deals with MS13 gang leaders. And what does this legislation do? It rewards that behavior with our tax dollars with diplomatic legitimacy with a seat at the table.
▶ 0:43:56while his regime runs torture chambers and shelters gang leaders responsible for killing Americans. This isn't diplomacy. This is This legislation doesn't just compromise our values. It puts Americans lives in When we fund terrorist supporting regimes, we're not defeating terrorism. We're bankrolling it.
▶ 0:44:26We're letting MS-13 and other criminal organizations operate with state protection while we provide the cash and cover. Who's going to tell the families of terrorism victims, that we're now cutting deals with the very people who murdered their loved ones? Mr. Chairman, this is your bill.
▶ 0:44:54Are you going to tell the victims of MS-13 that they will never get justice for the overdoses, the violent murders, the rapes that these criminals have committed and facilitated on American soil? Because we are releasing MS-13 leaders into the waiting arms of the Bugle regime. We have a choice.
▶ 0:45:19We can continue down this path, selling out our principles for the illusion of security, empowering dictators while abandoning our citizens and making America complicit in the worst kinds of abuses. Or we can remember who we are. America does not bow down to autocrats. We do not empower terrorists.
▶ 0:45:46We do not use the State Department to disappear people into black sides and call it foreign I oppose this bill because it allows too much funding for terrorist supporting regimes and because it guts the agencies that support American security, including those that help migrants integrate, find stability, and contribute to their home countries or local neighbors. Let's be clear.
▶ 0:46:16This legislation doesn't just fail the humanitarian programs that reduce migration and stop terrorism recruitment. It abandons American leadership on the world stage. This bill walks away from the table at the UN and hands our seat at the table to China and Russia. While they make global rules, we are too busy playing politics because the price of eggs was too high.
▶ 0:46:47That's not strength. That's surrender. Mr. Chairman, this bill sells out American leadership, American influence, and the key anti-corruption protections that safeguard American taxpayer dollars. It also zeros out agencies like the Inner American Development Bank that are on the front lines competing with China in Latin America and around the world.
▶ 0:47:14Once again, the 1% get richer off the backs of hardworking families while this bill makes America less safe, less secure, and less prosperous. I cannot and will not vote to make America complicit in terrorism and I urge my colleagues to vote no. Stand up. Stand up for our values. Put America's safety first over backroom political deals.
▶ 0:47:42And with that, I yield Thank you so much. Do any other members? Mr. Chairman, Just one second. Thank you. the the the the Atlantic publication just reported that the Trump administration gave the order to incinerate 500 tons of food aid that has been sitting in a warehouse that will expire thanks to the aid freeze that that food has been sitting there.
▶ 0:48:10It's American farmers and it's being um uh it will be incinerated. The other piece of this is they are also destroying and incinerating contraceptive supplies. Just want to put that on the record, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you. Any other members uh want to make a statement? Seeing none.
▶ 0:48:29Uh I know for the members on the ERA insert on page 241 of the draft bill before you which conforms the bill to the requirements of section 3F of House Resolution House Resolution 5. With respect to a spending reduction account, I ask unanimous consent that the insert be approved. See no objection. So ordered. Uh see no further amendments. I now recognize Mr. Rushinthaller for the purpose of making a motion. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:48:59I move the bill be favorably reported to the full committee. Question is on the motion. Those in favor please signify by saying I. I. Those opposed say no. Uh the chair the eyes have it and the motion is agreed to. the chair we ask for. Okay. Recorded vote has been requested. All those in favor of recorded vote, please raise your hand. Sufficient hands uh being raised, the clerk will now call the role.
▶ 0:49:30Mr. Alfred, Mr. Alfred, I Mr. Sisammani, Mr. Sisammani, I Mr. Diaz Balert. Mr. Diaz Balard. I Mr. Edwards, Mr. Edwards, I Miss Frankle, Miss Frank, no. Miss Lllo, Miss Lllo, I Miss Mang. Miss Mang. No. Mr. Mullenar. Mr. Mullinar. I Mr. Quigley.
▶ 0:50:01Mr. Quigley. No. Mr. Russianthaler. Hi. Mr. Russianthaler. I Mrs. Torres. Mrs. Torres. No. Mr. Cole. Mr. Cole. I Mr. Deloro. Mr. Deloro. No. Does any member wish to record their vote or change their vote? Seeing known, uh, the clerk will tally.
▶ 0:50:34The vote uh uh is uh eight eyes, five nos. So it is reported favorably. Uh I ask unanimous consent that the staff be permitted to make any technical confirming changes to the bill and the report without objection so ordered. Copies of the bill and the report with the technical and conforming changes will be delivered uh to all full committee members offices no later than three days three business days uh before the full committee.
▶ 0:51:05Um seeing no further business of this committee today uh this concludes our markup. Thank you very much and we are adjourned.