Lowey Opening Statement at Subcommittee Markup of FY2017 State and Foreign Operations Bill

July 6, 2016
Press Release

Thank you, Chairwoman Granger and our full committee chairman, Mr. Rogers.  I appreciate your efforts to include many of my and my colleagues’ priorities in the bill. 

I also want to express my appreciation to the Majority staff:  Anne Marie Chotvacs, Craig Higgins, Alice Hogans, Susan Adams, Clelia Alvarado, David Bortnick, Dean Koulouris and Johnnie Kaberle; as well as my staff: Steve Marchese, Erin Kolodjeski who just had a baby boy, Matt Washington, and Marin Stein.

I am deeply troubled both by the allocation for this bill, which is $595 million below last year, and the failure to maintain regular order.  The Minority did not officially receive the allocation for the State & Foreign Operations bill until after 10 of the 12 appropriations bills had subcommittee markups.

Despite these serious frustrations, I remain hopeful we can still find common ground on this essential national security bill. 

Fortunately, the mark sustains our bipartisan commitment to embassy and diplomatic security and continues the unwavering support and robust funding for our close ally and partner Israel, as well as for Jordan and Ukraine. 

I appreciate the Chair’s agreement to continue funding above the request level for basic education, which is fundamental to all our development goals and a core moral, economic, and national security imperative. 

This bill also tackles many other diverse challenges, including disease control, humanitarian and refugee response, export assistance, international narcotics control and international terrorism, all of which require robust American leadership.

Yet, these prudent choices are dramatically undermined by measures that hinder our shared goals.

Reinstating the Global Gag Rule, prohibiting U.S. contributions to UNFPA and the Green Climate Fund, politicizing global health programs, and failing to raise the cap on UN Peacekeeping are just some of the dangerous policies that weaken our ability to build stronger, more stable communities and trade partners around the world.

In short, attacks on family planning, the environment, and multilateral institutions are counterproductive to expanding our reach and enhancing the value of scarce tax dollars.

Additionally, there are two other areas that we as a subcommittee need to examine closely as we prepare for full Committee.  Limits on refugee admissions and United States support to combat the Zika virus.  Both of these essential activities seem to be at the mercy of a small group of partisan voices.

It is particularly troubling for the State and Foreign Operations bill to be used as a political football, saddled with divisive policy riders, and left to suffer at the end of the line with a lower allocation than is needed.

I hope we can fix what I consider to be poison pills as we move this bill forward by working together for what is in our country’s best interest.

114th Congress