00:01Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so much to our witnesses for being here.
00:07Unfortunately, we are witnessing today yet another political stunt, plain and simple.
00:13Republicans are here drawing a clear line in the sand.
00:17They will stop at nothing to advance Donald Trump's agenda and the dangerous blueprint laid out in Project 2025.
00:25Even if it means targeting the very groups that are working to protect our communities and support our law enforcement agencies.
00:33Let's be clear.
00:34My colleagues across the aisle have shown little to no interest in working with Democrats on real solutions for the American people.
00:40Instead of addressing pressing civil rights issues constituents actually care about, like wrongful deportations of U.S. citizens, ongoing efforts to undermine voting rights,
00:52or the serious flaws in our criminal justice system, this committee is spending its time holding a hearing with a title that sounds like it was ripped from a conspiracy blog.
01:02This hearing, how leftist nonprofit networks exploit federal tax dollars to advance a radical agenda.
01:10Really?
01:11I mean, when I listened to you, Mr. Chairman, who I do respect,
01:16I heard you say things about why is it that we're given money in other places.
01:22And I want to make sure that I answer that question because to put America first looks like we are going to keep American citizens safe.
01:30There is a such thing as soft power.
01:33And that is exactly what we were trying to do when we engaged in things such as USAID.
01:38When you start to talk about whether or not Sesame Street or anything else that's on NPR or PBS ends up in other places,
01:48this is so that there is not this warped thought process about the Western world or about the United States.
01:56We're talking about making sure that we don't end up allowing people to be radicalized against us because they have a terrible vision of us,
02:06because they may be in a government that actually puts out bad, terrible propaganda about us.
02:12So for pennies on the dollar, we are able to educate those around the world on who we really are in America and keep Americans safe.
02:21Soft power is real power, and it minimizes how much money we have to spend, say, on dropping bombs in countries at a random time without, say, congressional authority.
02:33But I digress.
02:33This kind of rhetoric, whether directed at nonprofits, their leaders, or elected officials, is not only reckless,
02:39it is beneath the dignity of this institution.
02:42And sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened.
02:45Over the past six months, we've seen hearing after hearing do nothing but attack nonprofits,
02:50as well as those who are just generally on a mission to serve, protect, and uplift vulnerable communities.
02:57In just my own committees, this has got to be the second or third time I've had to sit through the same tired narrative.
03:05If my Republican colleagues are truly concerned about taxpayer dollars being misused for political agendas,
03:10I'd encourage them to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
03:14But since we're here again spending more of the American people's money and time on political theater,
03:19let's at least stick to the facts.
03:22Fact.
03:22Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice stripped hundreds of millions of dollars
03:26from the Office of Justice Programs, money that funded essential community safety initiatives
03:32like victim services, gang prevention, and re-entry support.
03:37Fact.
03:37Trump and Republicans slashed grants to organizations like the National Organization for Victim Assistance,
03:44which trains advocates who staff domestic violence shelters, hotlines, and rape crisis centers.
03:50Fact.
03:51They cut over $10 million in funding to the National Policing Institute,
