Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Full Committee Markup of the 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Funding Bill

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill:

– As Prepared For Delivery –

Thank you, Chairwoman Granger, Chairman Diaz-Balart, and Ranking Member Barbara Lee. I would also like to thank the majority and minority staff, particularly Erin Kolodjeski, Laurie Mignone, and Lillian Wasvary.

Before I share my thoughts on this disastrous bill that completely abandons U.S. leadership abroad, I want to begin by sharing comments from President Trump’s Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who had this to say in response to the proposed cut of the State and Foreign Operations allocation by nearly one-third: “When we don’t lead, we create a vacuum that will be filled instead by China.” He continued, “America’s leadership means more than just military capability; diplomacy and foreign assistance are part of it too. This proposed budget would upend that relationship by gutting our civilian toolkit and depriving America of the diplomatic leadership whose benefits I have seen last a lifetime.” End quote. That was a Trump appointee about the cuts we are voting on today.

Furthermore, I hope you saw the letter we received from the American Jewish Committee. They said, quote, “At just 1 percent of the federal budget, the international affairs budget is a strategic investment that advances America’s interests around the world. Strong, principled American leadership in global affairs is the best protection for our national security interests, the preservation and advancement of democratic values and human dignity, and the security of our closest allies.”

President of The ONE Campaign, Tom Hart said: “Foreign assistance, especially development funding, is an incredibly important tool to advance America’s foreign policy, national security, and economic priorities. It is not a handout – it is a strategic investment that can lift millions out of poverty, turn the tide against deadly diseases, strengthen our economy, and make America safer. These shortsighted cuts will have long-term consequences, jeopardize our investments, and hurt the American taxpayer.”

This bill cedes America’s position as the leader of the global community to our adversaries. Russia, China, Iran. It fails to protect Americans, and weakens our national security. The greatest challenges facing the United States are multi-dimensional and cross borders. House Republicans’ 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill shortchanges foreign assistance, abdicates our country’s leadership on the global stage, hinders our ability to address the climate crisis, and harms women around the world.

This is a reversal of the United States’ historic position on the world stage. We are supposed to be the leaders of the free world. World War II established the United States as the foremost superpower – the global model of democracy and freedom and generosity. But whether we are talking about military, economic, or humanitarian assistance, or any of the areas that our foreign policy takes us – this bill completely unravels the hard-fought credibility and influence we have earned to be global leaders. The majority is diminishing the United States, what we stand for, and what our values are – for our own people and for people around the world who look to us for inspiration and hope.

Not to mention, the majority continues to imperil the relevance of the House Appropriations Committee, not just domestically as we have seen in previous weeks, but internationally as well.

The majority’s allocation proposed an unfathomable thirty-one percent cut to our nation’s ability to engage in diplomacy and to project soft power. But they knew from the start such a cut would be irresponsible and lead to negative repercussions around the world. Like many of the other bills, this bill cuts billions of dollars – $11 billion of which comes from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, part of the Inflation Reduction Act. This fund leverages private sector investments to help communities all over the country modernize and transition their energy infrastructure. The program is set to directly create one million jobs over a decade – 380,000 in low-income and disadvantaged communities – and would produce $100 billion in cost savings over the expected lifetime of the investments. This is the same act we’ve seen over and over again – first in the Polluters Over People Act [HR 1], and again in the Default on America Act. This is a historic program that will benefit Americans living in each of our districts, and it has no business being on the bargaining table.

With this level of funding, the majority looks to send us back to the isolationism of the early 20th century. We live in a time of escalating threats and competition abroad that require commanding influence and enduring cooperation with the international community. This is the wrong time to retreat in our efforts to engage peacefully and constructively.

Global engagement and foreign assistance are critical to bolstering our national security. As our colleague, Defense Subcommittee Ranking Member McCollum shared during our markup of the Defense bill, Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, quote: “If State Department funding gets cut, I need to buy more ammunition,” end quote. I can only guess how much more we will need after the majority’s proposed cuts.

If they will not listen to the Democrats on this committee, perhaps the majority will at least reflect on what Secretaries Esper and Mattis had to say about this shameful degradation of our nation’s diplomatic resources and capabilities.

This bill abdicates U.S. leadership at the United Nations and other multilateral and international institutions by not including any funding for the UN Regular budget, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), or most of our assessed contributions. Republicans eliminate the International Organizations and Programs Account, endangering support for UN Women, UNICEF, and the UN Development Program (UNDP). When it comes to international cooperation, withdrawing from these organizations is putting America last and allowing others to take our place as a global leader. China, Russia, Iran.

This bill prohibits the U.S. from contributing to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA – the world’s largest provider of donated contraceptives to developing countries. In addition to providing family planning services, UNFPA seeks to end preventable maternal death and gender-based violence and harmful practices. Stopping preventable death. Ending female genital mutilation. Republicans don’t believe America has an interest or role in either.

And by shortchanging humanitarian programs at a time when a historic number of refugees are fleeing conflict and instability, the United States will not have the tools to properly respond and assist our allies.

Finally, the partisan riders are another reminder of where the majority is looking to take this process. With every 2024 funding bill, Republicans have injected partisan ‘culture-wars’ riders, like bans on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), gender-affirming care, abortion access, and a host of other things not germane to the bills they are passing. Republicans are using these riders to spread hate and distract from the terrible cuts they are including in these bills. While we will continue to decry these riders, we will make sure that the American people – including your constituents – know what harms you have prepared to inflict. They will see that you are raising energy costs, taking food off families’ tables, threatening our national security, and making our communities less safe. You are fooling nobody.

For all of these reasons, I must vote against this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Thank you, and I yield back.

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