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Source: Congress.gov
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Good morning, folks, people of the Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs. We'll come to order. Good morning. Let me first welcome everyone to the subcommittee members' day. We're thrilled to have you. Before we begin, I want to take a moment to welcome our new subcommittee ranking member. She's a person that I've, her and I have known each other for longer than we care. Yes, you're the ranking member, Lois. We've known each other for, well, three decades, and she is a trusted friend. And while we certainly don't agree on everything, I can't think of a better partner and a better leader to have on the subcommittee. We also have several new members of the subcommittee who will add tremendously to the subcommittee with their expertise and experience, including the vice chairman of the subcommittee. It's good to see you, sir. Always a pleasure. I'm really, really looking forward to the year ahead. I want to thank my colleagues testifying today. Thank you for taking your time out of your busy schedules to present your views and priorities for the fiscal year 26 National Security Department of State and related programs. APPROPRIATIONS BILL. THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY BUDGET AND OVERSIGHT HEARINGS THAT WE WILL HAVE DURING FISCAL YEAR 2026 CYCLE. LOIS, DOESN'T IT FEEL LIKE WE JUST GOT RID OF THE 2025 CYCLE LIKE YESTERDAY, RIGHT? IT'S A CRITICAL TIME AND THERE'S SO MUCH WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE COMING MONTHS. I BECAME CHAIRMAN OF THIS SUBCOMMITTEE IN 2023 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST CONGRESS. As I began to dig into the programs and their spending and what the Biden administration had done in areas of the subcommittee, it didn't take me long to find, frankly, a very troubling pattern. In almost every program, including those with longstanding bipartisan support, the Biden administration pushed and even mandated new controversial and divisive policies. You know, the sad part is I warned those officials privately and publicly in every single hearing, in our markups and in meetings, that they were really jeopardizing the very existence of those programs.
I'm reminding them time and time again, I kept telling them that foreign aid is not a popular issue among the American public, especially when so many Americans were struggling with their own budgets under the previous administration of inflation, et cetera. I don't have to relitigate that. I warned them that forcing their climate agenda, their promoting censorship and mandating DIE in every dollar would not only be an insult to the American taxpayer, but would also work against our national interest around the globe. And also that it would erode bipartisan support for programs critical, critical to our national security. And now we're seeing exactly what happens in response to extreme partisan agendas that the American people don't support and clearly expressed that last election. So the question is, where do we go from here? I know my colleagues testifying today have recommendations to that end. My priority for the fiscal year 2026 House bill is to fund effective, accountable programs that support US national security. It's that simple. It's what I've been saying from day one, as I mentioned at the beginning. I take very seriously the member interest in our bill and would like to collaborate with each of you, each and every one of you on shared priorities that meet the objectives that I've just laid out. uh i am so grateful to all of you for being here and now i yield to the distinguished ranking member my good friend also from the state of florida lois frankel for her remarks thank you very much honored to be here of course you did test our friendship with your opening remarks
But because of my great respect for you, I'm not going to debate them. And I'll just give my own. But thank you. Listen, this is a very good, engaged committee. And I welcome our colleagues. And I will say this. Despite differences of opinion, I think everybody here understands the value of foreign assistance. And I know we're committed to working together. All right? But from my point of view, and I think many, we are in a crisis right now with our foreign policy and our humanitarian efforts. Number one, foreign assistance is not a handout, it's a strategy at less than 1% of our federal budget, and it greatly advances our own security and prosperity. And as I said, I think many of us in this room agree with that. But sadly and dangerously and shockingly, this Trump administration's reckless dismantling of USAID as well as other agencies under our jurisdiction without consulting Congress is not only illegal, It jeopardized decades of progress in global development and American leadership.
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