During a House Appropriations Committee hearing in July, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) spoke about the Republicans' Fiscal Year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.
00:00I thank the gentleman. The gentlelady from Ohio is recognized for remarks on the bill.
00:12Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Diaz-Billard. It's on. It's on, Mr. Chairman.
00:22And Ranking Member Frankel. First, let me express my deep concerns about the impact of the complete restructuring of this legislation to codify the misinformed and malicious gutting of our nation's diplomatic core.
00:42The 22% cut compared to last year by this bill is irresponsible, and I view it actually as dangerous.
00:52We face major threats and wars across places like the Middle East, where our allies are impacted,
01:01and a part of the world there where the oil-rich kingdoms have an outsized influence on global politics.
01:09In the European theater, Russia's war on Ukraine is weaving a new spider web of tyranny that faces our NATO allies,
01:19now involving ground troops from Laos and North Korea equipped with Iranian Shahid rockets and drones.
01:26The majority's naive, some would say isolationist, proposal reminds me of an adage shared with me by a high-ranking Central European official
01:35who said, if you turn your back on foreign affairs, foreign affairs will find you.
01:42That day is ahead.
01:44Our nation's security is not guaranteed.
01:47We must work for it every day, as our Constitution places our primary duty as protecting and defending our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
01:57That is why the first federal agency established by Congress and signed into law by President George Washington was the Department of Foreign Affairs.
02:08Our founders knew that if we did not prioritize engaging with and creating alliances in the global community,
02:15then we put our liberty and security at risk.
02:18We do not live on Earth alone.
02:20To keep Americans safe and prosperous, we first must be secure.
02:32Without diplomatic support, many of our allies, partners, and millions who are living in liberty
02:38will be forced to face the rising threat of tyranny and the harm it is causing as global allies question America's resolve.
02:47Our nation shaped international relations through engagement, what has been called soft power.
02:54News media, educational and cultural exchanges, foreign assistance, like food.
03:00I so disagree with the cuts that will not only impact people around the world who have already died because of shortages,
03:07that they haven't received the food in warehouses that we are destroying,
03:11but America's farmers who won't get that money.
03:13All programs significantly cut in this bill have formed the cornerstone of our engagement.
03:22We have entered a new era of competition among great powers.
03:26China, Russia, the tyrants, backfilling where our nation seeds the field.
03:33Latin America, Africa, the Pacific nations, the Middle East, and even now in Central Europe.
03:39These are evolving threats, which demand new resources.
03:44In science and technology, the United States used to lead the world in all the top ones,
03:49but now, unfortunately, that lead is being passed to Communist China.
03:55Leaders of our country must pay attention to the widening gaps in technological advancement,
04:00and never should our nation be placed in a position where aggressive foreign military power overwhelms our nation
04:05because their technology is superior.
04:09America in alliance is much stronger than America alone.
04:18Enacting misinformed and punitive budget cuts would be a significant setback for our country.
04:23For example, Canada is Ohio's largest trading partner,
04:27accounting for 100,000 jobs just in my state
04:30and $21 billion of goods sent annually to our neighbor to the north.
04:35Other countries, the United States Department of State has sought to cultivate mutual exchange programs.
04:42Canada is a friend and ally and a fair trade partner.
04:47Why would we make fun of the maple leaf folks and make trade more difficult?
04:51All of these exchange programs, whether they're on our continent or around the world,
04:56have included the result of 75 more Nobel laureates, nearly 450 current and former heads of state government
05:05that believe in liberty, and copy what we have done here.
05:09The United States has extended its global influence through radio and television news
05:13with efforts dating back to World War II with the Voice of America that countered Nazi propaganda.
05:18That practice expanded amid the Cold War with Radio for Europe and Radio Liberty,
05:24and we need programs and media platforms such as Voice of America
05:28and the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
05:33I don't want to speak over time except to say that President John Kennedy eloquently advised,
05:40let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,
05:44that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe,
05:51to assure the survival and success of liberty.
05:54I think that General Omar Bradley, in another era, also had good advice.
06:00Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked.
06:04We who fail to prevent them must share in the guilt for the dead.
06:10This legislation hangs our allies out to dry.
06:13I cannot support it as drafted and urge my colleagues to oppose it.
