Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2027 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — 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 2027 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill:

Thank you Chairman Cole, Chairman Diaz-Balart, and Ranking Member Frankel for their good work and for their friendship.

I also want to thank the subcommittee staff, Erin Kolodjeski, Ed Etzkorn, and Laurie Mignone on the minority, and their counterparts on the majority, Susan Adams, Craig Higgins, Jamie McCormick, Trey Hicks, John Muscolini, Gabriella Zach, Erin McMenamin, and Clelia Alvarado, as well for their work.

I am opposed to the bill under consideration today. It cuts humanitarian assistance, slashes global health programs and threatens women’s health, 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 $1,700 and isolated us on the international stage. 

He dismantled USAID, 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 9 million by 2030, including 2.5 million deaths of children younger than 5 years old.

The President repeatedly threatened to invade Greenland, which our closest NATO allies believed was serious enough to make physical preparations to defend against a U.S. 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 presenting 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 40 percent, and has no discernible objective, no strategic vision, and no end in sight.

The Trump Doctrine is 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 institutions devoted to global peace. Undermining the UN only erodes our global influence. It also short-changes American businesses, who receive upwards of $2.1 billion in UN contracts, which is more than our dues.

This bill cuts 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 originate abroad. 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 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.

The bill also eliminates all funding for the U.S. Institute for Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. 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, 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 devote to war and how little we can spare for peace.

I encourage my colleagues to oppose this bill, and work with the Democrats to craft a funding bill that strengthens American international leadership, not weakens it. 

Thank you and I yield back.

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