Lois Frankel Slams GOP-Backed National Security Bill As 'Reckless Blueprint For American Retreat'

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Appropriation Committee markup meeting held before the Congressional recess, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) spoke about the FY26 National Security and State Department Bill.

Transcript

00:00That's corn. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I look forward to the vigorous debate, and I yield back.

00:09Thank the gentleman, and I would now like to recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee,

00:15Ms. Frankel, for remarks on the bill.

00:22Oh, there it is. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to start by recognizing the collegiate

00:29of our chairman, Mr. Diaz-Balart, and the thoughtful members on both sides of the aisle,

00:35and, of course, I want to thank our hard-working staff. But most of all, I want to start, I want

00:42to recognize the brave and committed Americans, our diplomats, our USID workers, our humanitarian

00:47teams, the public health experts, and our partners around the world, and the public health experts

00:54who bring our country's values to the world's toughest places. They're the ones who delivered

01:00vaccines to remote villages in the Congo, who helped girls in Ethiopia escape forced marriage

01:05and find education and safety. I've seen their work up close. I know many of us have.

01:11And the impact of programs we funded. Children who escaped the brutality of Assad's Syria thriving

01:17in classrooms in Jordan. Mothers in Malawi learning skills to support their families, pregnant women,

01:23in Kenya, and Kenya staying healthy with support from HIV clinics. To all these workers, past

01:30and present, you are the patriots. You represent the best of America. And those who are still

01:37serving deserve more than our thanks. They deserve the tools to get the job done.

01:44Mr. Chairman, I wish we had a bipartisan bill in front of us that I could support that honored

01:49the service and reflected Americans' leadership. If we had had a responsible allocation in a White

01:55House that understood diplomacy, development, and humanitarian aid, we could have gotten there.

02:02But instead, here we are, questioning whether any of this really matters when the president

02:09just ignores the will of Congress and the laws we pass. So today, I strongly oppose the FY 2026 Republican

02:18bill. It's not just a funding cut. It's a reckless blueprint for American retreat. Our president

02:27seems to think that relying on threats and bullying alone is smart strategy. But chaotic tariffs, cruel

02:35immigration crackdowns, and this tepid foreign aid plan before us today is not going to make us more

02:42safe, secure, or more prosperous. And attention, we are ceding the world to China. And let me make it

02:50clear. This bill does not lower costs for hardworking families and retirees on day one, as promised by

02:56the president. Instead, it puts hard-earned finances at risk by hurting global stability. And tax breaks

03:06for billionaires is not a trade-off for millions of starving children around the world. And let me just

03:13say that this bill does not make one bit of difference in making up the $4 trillion addition

03:21to our debt when the Republicans passed what they called their big, big bill, their big, beautiful bill.

03:27I call it the big, ugly bill. And this bill adds to a list of troubling actions by the administration.

03:35Here's what's happened leading up. Foreign aid has been held up legally, then justified by an inane

03:41clawback known as a rescission. USAID, an agency backed by Congress that fights poverty and prevents

03:47conflict, gutted. Over 10,000 development humanitarian professionals dismissed by Elon Musk.

03:545,000 life-saving programs abruptly terminated. 1,300 State Department staff laid off. Offices

04:02shutted. Decades of progress wiped out. And how disgusting. The richest man in the world was

04:10allowed to pull the plug on programs that save the world's poorest children. The infrastructure

04:18and staffing are no longer present to carry out the few programs that remain. And let me say this

04:26again with emphasis. The infrastructure and staffing are no longer present to carry out the few programs

04:32that remain. And while the world faces crisis after crisis, wars and armed conflict, extreme weather,

04:40hunger and famine, disease and outbreaks, mass migration, rising authoritarian regimes,

04:46these aren't distant problems. They land right at our door. Fragile states collapse and migration

04:53surges. Trade stops and U.S. farmers and businesses lose buyers. Climate disasters destroy crops and homes.

05:01Broken health systems allow deadly viruses to spread. And when we step back, China and Russia step in,

05:08not to expand their grip. We're leaving behind a gap that they fill with money and weapons and propaganda,

05:17taking over the airwaves, reaching listeners who used to rely on Voice of America and our international

05:24broadcasting. They want to remake the world to fit their playbook. And meanwhile, sadly, our allies are also

05:34slashing foreign aid pushed to spend more on weapons by Mr. Trump. As global needs explode,

05:40democracy's soft power is vanishing. And this bill fails to meet the moment. Here's what it really does.

05:48It cuts 22 percent from the international affairs budget. That's 13 billion dollars.

05:53Diminishes funding for development and economic assistance. Kids kicked out of classrooms and cut off from clean water.

06:00Farmers losing seeds and tools to make a living. Violence prevention programs vanishing.

06:07Local nonprofits shut down. The bill slashes your managing aid by 42 percent.

06:12In Nigeria, malnourished infants are dying without food. In Miramar, hospitals are going dark.

06:20In Gambia, support for the survivors of female genital mutilation has ended as the country debates,

06:25making it legal again. In Ukraine, wounded soldiers go without care. And in Ecuador, women entrepreneurs are losing lifelines

06:34and heading to our border. This is a blow to our credibility, our moral standing, and our global influence.

06:44Soft power, interestingly enough, development and diplomacy has been secret weapons abroad.

06:50Without them, we're losing Americans on the ground who know the terrain, see the trouble coming, and keep us one step ahead.

06:59And as always, my, my, my, here we go again. Republicans couldn't resist one more swipe at women.

07:08Slashing family planning programs that save hundreds of thousands of lives each year

07:12and prevent millions of unplanned pregnancies.

07:16Reinstating the global gag rule, which blocks funding to foreign groups that even talk about abortion.

07:21You can't even say the word abortion.

07:25Not do abortion. Say the word abortion.

07:28You lose your funding.

07:30A gutting the UNFPA, which provides basic reproductive and maternal care in over 150 countries.

07:36And while this bill guts humanitarian programs and walks away from the world's most vulnerable,

07:42the administration is also on the road to destroying one of the smartest, most effective U.S. foreign policies,

07:50the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

07:52It's not some fringe idea.

07:55It's law.

07:56Signed by, guess who?

07:59Donald Trump.

08:00It passed with strong bipartisan support.

08:03Here's why.

08:03Women experience conflict differently than men, often bearing the brunt of sexual violence, displacement,

08:11and the burden of caring for families amid chaos.

08:13Yet, also, they are often excluded from life-changing decisions.

08:18The WPS agenda has trained diplomats, strengthened alliances,

08:22and put more women in the center of peace and security.

08:26When women are at the table for peace talks, recovery, and crisis response,

08:31the results are better, period.

08:33Peace lasts longer, communities recover faster, and missions succeed.

08:38And yet, this administration has shut down the State Department's office that leads that work

08:43right when we need women's leadership the most.

08:45This is not just short-sighted.

08:48It makes the world less safe and works directly against our own interests.

08:52This bill also abandons multilateral institutions and organizations.

08:57UNICEF, the UN Development Bank Program, the African and Asian Development Banks,

09:04the World Bank, the World Health Organization,

09:06undermining our ability to shape the global agenda and ceding the ground to order cracks.

09:12Guess who?

09:13Attention!

09:14Attention!

09:15China is going to take over this world.

09:18And so why should Americans care that these cuts are going to cost more than they save?

09:26Because the cuts hurt American families.

09:29When we walk away from the world, chaos spreads.

09:34Troops are put in harm's way.

09:35Our adversaries gain ground.

09:37And we pay the price in dollars and in lives.

09:40And look, I say this not just as a lawmaker, but as a mother.

09:44My son served in the Marines.

09:47He was sent to two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan.

09:50I know what it means when diplomacy fails.

09:53The cost is not hypothetical.

09:56It hits our soldiers and the family the hardest.

10:00And let me remind you,

10:02the international budget was already less than 1% of our federal funding,

10:06but it delivered huge returns.

10:08Markets for American goods, stability abroad, protection from pandemics,

10:15fewer troops sent into harm's way.

10:18Last week, we passed an $832 billion defense bill.

10:23That's hard power.

10:24But even our top generals warn without soft power alongside,

10:29that number will only keep rising.

10:33So, Mr. Chair, this bill is a lost opportunity.

10:36It's a failure to lead.

10:38It hurts American families because when health systems collapse,

10:42people get sick.

10:44When trade stalls, jobs vanish.

10:46When diplomacy fails, our loved ones go to war.

10:49So let me close with this.

10:51Democrats are not giving up.

10:53We're ready to work together with Republicans to reach a bill

10:57that reflects our values,

11:00keeps our promises, and protects American lives

11:02because we cannot bomb and drone away to peace and prosperity.

11:08A strong America does not hide.

11:11It does not bully.

11:12A strong America leads with vision,

11:15with courage and compassion.

11:17And that is the bill we should be fighting for.

11:20And thank you.

11:21I yield back.

11:22I yield back.

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