Ranking Member Frankel Remarks During Floor Debate on State, Foreign Operations Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Ranking Member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor during debate on the fiscal year 2027 bill:

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and let me just start expressing my extreme respect for my chairman, Mr. Diaz Balart, our subcommittee, and the staff. With that said, Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to the Republican Fiscal Year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations.

And, I do so with regret.

This bill should be our moment to strengthen America and show the world that American leadership is more than bombs, bullying, and illegal tariffs. Done right, this bill could make our nation more secure—at home and abroad. And sadly, it falls painfully short. 

Rather than making smart investments in the tools that prevent conflict and build peace and prosperity, the Trump Administration has chosen to put us in a war that is costing our country billions of dollars and countless lives with no end in sight.

But, real security requires more. It requires diplomacy. It requires development. It requires humanitarian leadership. Real security means showing up before a crisis becomes a catastrophe, before instability becomes extremism, before conflict becomes war.

This is how we build alliances. And this is how we create trading partners. And this is how we stop diseases before they reach our shores. This is how we keep America's sons and daughters from having to fight another war. Yet this bill hollows out the very tools that have kept Americans safe for generations.

And let us be honest about what’s happened. USAID has been dismantled. Programs have been terminated. Decades of expertise have been cast aside. Clinics are closing. Vaccines are going undelivered. Contraceptives are sitting in warehouses. Children are losing the chance to go to school. Families are going hungry. Communities are losing access to clean water. People are losing their lives. Current estimates indicate, if these cuts continue, researchers warn that by 2030, more than 14 million additional people could die—including 4.5 million children under the age of five. Think about that. Four and a half million children. Lives that could have been saved.

And remember, we are all in this world together! When hunger grows, when disease spreads, when poverty deepens, when hope disappears instability follows. Extremism finds fertile ground. And America becomes less—not more—secure.

And at the very moment the world needs more American leadership, this bill tells us to retreat. It proposes $14 billion less in international affairs than just four years ago—a cut of more than 23 percent.

These cuts weaken our diplomats. They dismantle our development programs. They slash humanitarian assistance. They undermine global health efforts that stop threats before they reach our shores.

Meanwhile, another appropriations bill moves us toward more than $1 trillion in defense spending. The most ever in the history of our country. And our President wants another half billion more.

Now let me be clear, Mr. Chair, I believe in a strong military. I’m the mother of a Marine who served in two wars, and I know that we owe every servicemember more than just our gratitude.

The choice should not be between military strength and diplomacy. American security depends on both.

And we owe those brave servicemen and women a foreign policy that does everything possible to prevent the next war before asking them to fight in one.

Because diplomacy prevents conflict. Development reduces the desperation that fuels violence. Humanitarian assistance builds stability. Strong alliances ensure America never stands alone.

These are not acts of charity. These are investments in American national security. But instead of strengthening our security, this bill walks away from it.

It rescinds $1 billion in humanitarian assistance. It turns our back on women around the world—the foundation of families and communities—by reducing family planning programs and eliminating support for UNFPA.

It expands the Global Gag Rule, imposing ideological restrictions that silence health care providers, deny women critical medical information, and condition U.S. assistance on compliance with anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

It refuses to meet our commitments to the United Nations by not even paying our dues.

It eliminates funding for the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development Foundation—institutions that prevent conflict, strengthen democracy, expand economic opportunity, and advance America's interests.

And it turns its back on building relationships with the growing nations of Africa—the continent that has the world's fastest-growing population, rapidly expanding economies, and many of tomorrow's most important partners. 

That is not strength. That’s not strength. That is surrendering American leadership. And when America walks away, who walks in? China walks in. Russia steps in. Extremists fill the vacuum.

Now, this debate is not about choosing between hard power and soft power. So, I urge my colleagues: Reject this bill. Because America's greatest strength has not been our military power. It is the power of our ideals. The power of our diplomacy. The power of our compassion. The power of our partnerships. The power of American leadership. And, I yield back.