At a House Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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00:00Mr. Skimani, you're recognized, sir.
00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Secretary Ruby, for being here,
00:05and thank you for your words, especially at the beginning when you're describing
00:09and through the questions on your fast and, I would say, intentional actions
00:15and restructuring, refocusing the department and its true mission
00:19of expanding American interests around the world.
00:21I think that is exactly what we should have been doing for a long time,
00:24and you're definitely getting there very, very quickly.
00:28I'll start off with this.
00:30I represent Arizona's 6th Congressional District, which is along the U.S.-Mexico border.
00:35First, I'd like to state how impressed I am with how fast the administration
00:41has been able to combat the transnational criminal organizations
00:44and secure our southern border.
00:47However, low border encounters by CBPR fentanyl crisis continues to ravish
00:53many of our communities across the country still.
00:55How is your budget request going to prioritize programs for counter-drug initiatives
01:00and border security, particularly with relation to fentanyl?
01:04Well, we've remained very committed, especially, I mean,
01:06we've preserved the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
01:09at the Assistant Secretary level.
01:11That's underneath the broader new trajectory that we've built
01:15on the Undersecretary for International Security.
01:19And it's a top priority for many of our partners.
01:21I can give you a few examples of places where we think we can make a difference.
01:23First, let me say in full concession, the Mexican government has been probably more cooperative
01:30and forward-leaning than at any time that I can recall in my 15 years here
01:34for a couple reasons.
01:35But one, because I think they, too, identify the cartels as a threat
01:40to their government and their national stability.
01:42There are parts of Mexico today that are governed by drug cartels,
01:46and they recognize the threat that it poses.
01:47But I think it's also been, and by the way, if you go all down Central America
01:51and country after country, the primary threat they face in Ecuador, in Costa Rica,
01:56in Panama to some extent, certainly in Guatemala, is the threat of these transnational organizations
02:01that use their countries as transfer routes, which we seek to help them develop the capability
02:08to partner with us and disrupt.
02:09And that will be a priority.
02:11In the Caribbean Basin, that's also been an issue of grave concern.
02:14But primarily what we hear there, one of the things we're working on now
02:17with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the ATF,
02:21is how can we disrupt the flow of illegal gun shipments,
02:25primarily leaving the Miami River in containers embedded, among other things,
02:29that's finding its way into the hands of Haitian gangs, gangs in Trinidad, gangs in Jamaica.
02:34That's also destabilizing the region and those countries.
02:38And what they want, if you talk to our embassies and you talk to those governments,
02:40is for us to help them build the law enforcement capacities so that it's foreign aid that ends,
02:46because one day they will have the capacity to disrupt it.
02:49The Dominican Republic is currently seeking radar systems to be able to detect boats and planes
02:54that may be coming to their shores, because they become a very attractive place to bring drugs through,
02:59because it quickly can, from there, be shipped into Puerto Rico,
03:02and at that point has entered the U.S. and crossed our border.
03:05So I think this is an example of where embassy and regional-based policymaking
03:09will help us to identify the critical capacity needs that each individual country gets
03:14and then drive our assistance based on what they need, as opposed to what we think they need.
03:19That's great to hear, especially on the, and I agree with you on the,
03:22we've talked to Coast Guard about that, about the interactions also of drugs across the ocean,
03:28and what you mentioned about the Mexican government.
03:30I agree with you.
03:31I've worked on that issue for a while, and I've seen a very open willingness from them.
03:35I think it's a win-win for both countries to be able to tackle that.
03:38In the little time that I have left, and you already covered some of this,
03:41I was going to bring up also the situation with the hostages
03:44and the interactions with Hamas there and the hostages remaining, especially the four Americans.
03:52Israel has successfully destroyed much of Hamas' terror capabilities,
03:55but the group is not yet defeated, and all hostages are not free.
03:58You talked a bit about that, so I'll focus my question really on UNRWA,
04:03and does the administration support the continued prohibition on funding of UNRWA,
04:08and is the administration working with others in the international community
04:12to design an alternative to UNRWA as well that meets the needs of all Palestinians
04:17without perpetuating the conflict?
04:19We do oppose working with UNRWA.
04:21In fact, that's exactly what we're working on,
04:23is finding alternative mechanisms to deliver aid that doesn't find its way into the hands of Hamas,
04:27where they steal it, and in some cases resell it at exorbitant prices
04:30to people that are hungry and suffering.
04:33And in many ways, it's the grip they had on the population there as well.
04:38One of the things they use to be able to control population is their ability to steal this.
04:42And in some cases, they weren't stealing it.
04:43They had people inside the organizations that were cooperating with them.
04:46We do need to find alternative mechanisms.
04:48And there are some that exist that are independent of UNRWA that are out there.
04:52And so, like I said, we've put out some proposals.
04:54We're open to any proposals that exist that provide assistance and aid,
04:58especially if we can get to a peacetime posture to help rebuild,
05:01that does not help a group like Hamas benefit or restart and grow again.
05:06You're right on that.
05:07Over a billion dollars stolen in the last 18 months on that.
05:10So I'm glad you're on it, and I trust you're going to get that done.
05:13So thank you, sir, for your time today.
05:15Mr. Chairman, I yield back.