'No Wonder People Are Upset': Jeanne Shaheen Calls Out Trump Administration For Dismantling State Department

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At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) asked Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas about food assistance programs.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Regas, as you can see, there are strong feelings on the part of this committee about what's happened at the State Department.

00:08I think one of the things that would have helped with any reorganization would have been to engage this committee,

00:16which is our oversight, responsibility, and function.

00:19And the fact is, as I said in my opening statement, this reorganization has occurred without appropriate notification,

00:28without appropriate engagement on the part of Congress, and no wonder people are upset.

00:35But I want to go back to the food assistance issue, because you acknowledge that what we don't want to do

00:43is destroy food that has been purchased, that is available for people.

00:48We don't want to let it spoil. We don't want to destroy it.

00:50So, can I ask that you have an inventory of what food is still out there waiting to be distributed?

01:00Certainly.

01:00I know there is oil in Houston in a warehouse that is going to reach its expiration date within months,

01:08and if we don't get it out, it's also going to be spoiled.

01:11I'm sure there is food in other places around the world, actually,

01:17because we know there was food in Djibouti that was going out.

01:22So, can we ask that you provide that to this committee within the next week,

01:27and with a plan for how it's going to get distributed?

01:32And if the State Department doesn't have the officials to distribute it,

01:35let's give it to other aid organizations so that they can distribute it,

01:39so it's not going to waste, and people are getting the benefit,

01:43not only from what the American taxpayers paid for,

01:46but for people who are desperate for food,

01:49and we know that there are places all over the world where people are desperate for that food.

01:55Certainly.

01:55Will you commit to that?

01:56Of course, certainly.

01:58Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:59Thank you, Senator Shaheen.

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