Ranking Member Frankel Floor Remarks on Republicans’ Rescissions Package
WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Ranking Member of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in opposition to Republicans' rescissions package:
Mr. Speaker,
I rise today in fierce opposition to the Republicans’ reckless rescission bill—a backdoor scheme to claw back critical federal funding that protects America’s global leadership, public health safeguards, and trusted public broadcasting, all while bypassing Congress’s Constitutional authority.
Let’s be clear: this is not a budget tweak. It’s an attack on our values—a direct hit to our national health, safety, and prosperity—and a green light for authoritarian overreach.
This package guts essential investments in international development and humanitarian programs—lifesaving tools that fight disease, prevent terrorism, support democracy, and open markets for American businesses.
And here’s the kicker: Congress approved this funding just two months ago—and Donald Trump signed it into law. And now, Republicans want cover up the massive hole they blew in the deficit with tax giveaways for billionaires.
Their so-called “fiscal responsibility” comes at the expense of starving children, crumbling democracies, and public-private partnerships that have changed American innovation to solve the world's toughest challenges.
Foreign assistance—which has long represented just about one percent of our national budget—is not charity. It is strategy.
Don’t take my word for it. Military leaders from both parties have warned us for years: if we fail to lead with soft power, we’ll end up paying in blood, bombs, and more boots on the ground.
Cutting foreign assistance will deepen desperation, fuel extremism, and push fragile societies toward collapse. And when that happens, we all pay the price: refugee crises surge; diseases spread; trade routes shut down; our troops and diplomats face greater danger; and our homeland security is weakened.
Here’s an example of what’s on the chopping block: PEPFAR, which has saved over 26 million lives and nearly 8 million babies from being born with HIV; food assistance, which stabilizes communities and creates agricultural markets; public-private partnerships that channel American innovation to solve the world’s toughest challenges.
And let’s talk about what happens, and what is happening, when we pull back. When the United States steps away, others step in—and not with good intentions. China is flooding developing countries with infrastructure loans and digital surveillance systems. Russia is exporting mercenaries and disinformation.
And while we’re debating whether to send a bag of rice or a clean water pump, our adversaries are buying influence; they are forging military alliances, and rewriting the rules of global engagement.
This isn’t theoretical—this is happening right now. Take Africa, for example—a region poised to become, listen to this, one-quarter of the world’s population. U.S. assistance has helped build stability there through nutrition programs, education, and public health.
But if we walk away now, we’re not just abandoning our values—we’re surrendering one of the world’s fastest-growing marketplaces to China.
So let’s be clear: regions we assist aren’t just aid recipients—they are emerging economies and future trading partners. Pulling back opens the door for authoritarian regimes like China to dominate the future of commerce, connectivity, and development.
It’s not just cruel—it’s strategically self-defeating and economically foolish.
Make no mistake: this rescission package is Project 2025 in action—dismantling our institutions, silencing oversight, and handing U.S. global leadership over to dictators on a silver platter, leaving us alone in the world.
This bill also attempts to rubber-stamp the Trump Administration’s illegal actions—blocking funding already approved by Congress, firing career public servants, and hollowing out entire agencies.
And let’s be honest: this won’t lower costs for American families. It won’t reduce the deficit. But it will make the world more dangerous—and make Americans less safe, less healthy, and less prosperous.
So I urge a no on this bill.
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