00:00Under your leadership, the U.S. effectively has closed 31 counselor operations across Africa
00:06and has 34 ambassadorships vacant. Under your leadership, we froze student, refugee,
00:13and valid visa processing to 26 African nations. Under your leadership, we have raised the tariffs
00:20on 30 emerging economies. Under your leadership, we have pulled out of the pandemic and health
00:27care aid for over 40 countries. Our diplomats used to operate in every region, culture,
00:33and society on earth. A workforce that reflects the diversity of our country is not a political
00:39objective. It is indeed, as well as you know, a strategic advantage, as you articulated.
00:45Africa and other developing nations are fast-growing and young populations, represent one of humanity's
00:51greatest opportunities for shared prosperity, climate resilience, and democratic transformation.
00:59On global health, last year, the Trump administration cut off all funding to the World Health Organization.
01:06However, to prevent diseases from reaching our shores, the U.S. still needs the global outbreak
01:12and disease surveillance functions that the World Health Organization offers. Diseases, as you know,
01:19do not need passports or visas. In March, the Washington Post reported that the administration
01:26is proposing to spend more than $2 billion a year to recreate a system that you dismantle,
01:33such as laboratories, data sharing networks, and rapid response systems that you abandoned
01:39when you withdrew from this program. This is more than three times what we had contributed
01:45to the World Health Organization. That's waste, fraud, and abuse. How is reinventing the wheel
01:52at a significantly higher cost efficient for the American people? You know that. Let me just
01:58answer that. Since Eastern Congo and Uganda are currently experiencing the third largest outbreak
02:03since it was discovered half a century ago, your response was to criticize the World Health Organization
02:08that you had retreated from. Your statement in the administration's action revealed a retreat from
02:13our responsibility, a shrinking of the vision of America, and a devastating abandonment of those
02:19who have long looked to the U.S. not as a savior, but as a partner in the difficult work
02:24of survival
02:25and dignity. Moving forward, we would have questions on how the Trump administration plans to address
02:31global health crisis, if that is something the United States still wishes to have leadership in.
02:37Prior to 2026, U.S. global health was a model for the world. Its initiatives helped contain more than
02:45250 diseases across more than 40 countries. But DOGE and this administration have not told the truth.
02:53They told the American people these cuts were necessary, because I can assure you there is nothing
02:58necessary about denying medicine when people are suffering. There is nothing justified in
03:03weaking initiatives like PEPFAR and the Global Fund. I'll give you some time, which have stood as
03:09shining examples of what this country can achieve when it chooses compassion over indifference.
03:15As we look at the HIV crisis, and specifically in Zambia, according to a draft memo that was shared with
03:21you,
03:22prepared for you by the State Department and African Bureau staff, something that you care about,
03:27you considered withholding life-saving assistance to 1.3 million people with HIV in Zambia to force
03:34the government to sign a deal giving the U.S. more access to critical minerals. Do you consider it
03:40acceptable to use life-saving HIV AIDS treatment as leverage for economic advantage? And in closing,
03:48over the Easter weekend I was in Cuba doing an oversight to see, and your State Department refused to meet
03:54with
03:54members of Congress while they were out gallivanting and partying. In closing, I would like to ask you,
04:01will you invade Cuba? I yield back. Well, I have one second to answer.
04:10What do I do? I mean, you guys tell me your rules here. I tried to write down all the
04:13stuff you said.
04:14Will you invade Cuba? Well, that's not the only thing you said.
04:16Mr. Secretary, I'm going to take my time to ask questions at this time and I'll give you some time
04:20to
04:21answer. Okay, because I do want to answer a lot of the points you raised. It's just absolutely false
04:24that we've abandoned the continent of Africa, as I've highlighted multiple times here.
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