00:00Thank you for having me here. There'll be a lot to talk about today, and I just want to remind
00:04everybody, you know, our foreign policy is one that's solely focused on the national interest of the United States of
00:13America, on the defense of our country, both its military defense and our security, but also our economic security and
00:18the vibrancy of our economy, our sovereignty, and our future.
00:22We believe that America should lead the world, and I believe that we are, and we'll have a very good
00:26story to tell about that. American leadership, however, should always be on behalf of the American interests.
00:31I say this because I think over a period of time in our foreign policy, we lost focus on that.
00:36The reality of it is that our foreign policy, first and foremost, must always be what is in the national
00:41interest of the United States of America.
00:43And determining the national interest oftentimes requires us to make pragmatic decisions. Sometimes in foreign policy, the choices are not
00:51between a good choice and a bad choice.
00:53It's between two less than ideal choices, and you're trying to figure out which one of these two choices is
00:58the one that is best for the United States and least harmful to our interests.
01:01And that plays out every single day. That said, we remain the world's sole global superpower.
01:06The most powerful country on earth, we have the largest economy. We have the most formidable and powerful military, ever
01:12known to man, by the way.
01:13Our dollar remains the reserve currency of the world. Our language is used extensively throughout the world to transact all
01:21sorts of business and many of our engagements.
01:23But all of this means very little if that power is not used to protect the people who built it,
01:27the people who it is meant to protect.
01:29I also remind everybody the United States government is not a charity. We are not here to play social worker.
01:34We are here to win.
01:35We are here to win on behalf of the American people and on behalf of the national interest.
01:39To win for our country, to win for the people of America, to win for the things that are important
01:44for our future.
01:44And that's what we exist to do. The State Department exists to carry out the foreign policy of the United
01:49States, both in diplomacy and in aid,
01:51in a way that furthers the national interest and helps the American people.
01:55And it's guided every decision that's been made since January of 2025.
02:00I'll give you a perfect example in our own Western Hemisphere, an area that this committee and many of its
02:04members long argued, as I did,
02:06has long been neglected and not been paid attention to.
02:09We now have in this hemisphere a coalition of friendly countries, over a dozen,
02:13who have aligned to work on not just the issues of security that we all have in common,
02:17but also economic prosperity that go hand in hand.
02:19It's an amazing story that basically, other than Nicaragua, other than Cuba, obviously other than Venezuela,
02:26remains with some challenges, and of course Brazil, although they're in the midst of an election cycle,
02:31and to some extent the current government in Colombia as well, at least the president's been problematic.
02:36But generally speaking, it is now a region filled with American allies, American-friendly leaders,
02:41and an America-friendly direction.
02:42Now obviously we have to operationalize that into action after 20 years of neglect,
02:46in which China and other global powers have intruded in our Western Hemisphere,
02:50to the detriment not just of American national interest,
02:53but to the detriment, in our view, of the people of those countries as well.
02:57So these are important achievements, and one that I'm very happy about.
03:02I'm also happy about the way we've transformed foreign aid.
03:05In any transition, there will be, you know, bumps in the road,
03:08but largely speaking, if you think about how those programs that existed in the past were failing us,
03:13the old model had to be replaced.
03:15And the foreign assistance that remains is being brought under the strategic direction of the State Department.
03:20So we're not just providing money, we are also seeking outcomes.
03:23It's not just how much money you spend on a program, it's whether you're getting outcomes from it,
03:27but it's also being guided with our strategic view in mind.
03:31And that means that we are able to provide aid, not just all over the world,
03:34but specifically targeted at those most in needs, and those places around the world most important
03:39to the national interest of the United States.
03:42That will remain our guiding principle, that's been our guiding principle in our reforms.
03:46So, you know, the, I would just, I mean, we can get into a lot of these details in our
03:52questions.
03:52The bottom line is that all this and more is a reflection of this belief that I outlined at the
03:58outset,
03:58and that is that foreign policy cannot be separated from economic policy, from border policy, from energy policy,
04:04from any of these other spheres that are critical to our national interests.
04:07A country that cannot build ships, or produce medicine, or control immigration, or access vital resources,
04:13cannot defend its people, cannot defend its interests, and cannot defend its way of life.
04:18So our foreign policy continues to be reoriented around the real foundations of national strength.
04:24This budget is yet another step, I believe, in that direction.
04:27Obviously, the appropriators here will have a huge say on the outcome of what that budget ultimately looks like,
04:33as we don't anticipate that for the first time in modern history, Congress will just take up our budget and
04:38pass it.
04:39We think it'll go through some substantial reforms along the way,
04:42and we look forward to engaging you like we did last year to produce what we think is a very
04:45good spending bill at that time.
04:47So anyways, I look forward to your questions.
04:49At least that's what it says here.
04:50I'm not sure if I really look forward to your questions.
04:52I look forward to probably half your questions.
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