{time}  1200

  He did nothing half baked. He did everything with a full heart:
academics, athletics, and of course, the service to our Nation.
  He said: ``You should be passionate about everything you do; if not,
why do it?'' That was his attitude about life, a passion that is
demonstrated by that iconic photo of Pat on the football field that
became the foundation for the statue of Pat outside Arizona State Sun
Devil Stadium at the entrance of Tillman Tunnel that depicts Pat
running, yelling, and hair flying.
  That was the passion that drove his success on the football field.
That passion drove his determination to do something after our Nation
was attacked on 9/11. That passion led him to be all that he could be
as an Army Ranger alongside his brother, Kevin, where they were
subsequently assigned to the 2nd battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
  Now, as an Army Ranger, Pat deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom in
2003 and then to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004.
  Mr. Speaker, it was on April 22 of that year that Pat was in Khost
province in the southeast Afghanistan border region, and on that day he
was part of two convoys on patrol in a narrow valley.
  As they were going down this valley, they came to a fork in the road
where the first convoy was supposed to turn left and the second convoy
was supposed to turn right. That was Pat's convoy.
  When Pat got to that fork in the road, they realized that it was
impassable, and so they followed behind the first convoy to the left
unbeknownst to the first convoy.
  A while later, the enemies started to ambush the first convoy. Pat's
convoy behind a hill heard it, knew what they had to do, and responded.
Pat and two other members of that convoy immediately exited their
Humvees, got up to a ridge where they could see the first convoy, and
then started firing at the enemies up on the hill.
  The first convoy, unfortunately, did not know that up on that ridge
it was Pat Tillman. Pat's last words were: Cease fire. I am Pat f'ing
Tillman.
  Now, at first, Mr. Speaker, the Army put out a standard statement
saying that Pat Tillman was killed by enemy fire, but after four
military investigations and numerous independent investigations,
including one by his own mother, Dannie, the truth came out that Pat
was killed by friendly fire.
  It was not just Pat's death that hurt. It was the sense of deception
that made this story difficult. That is why the legacy of Pat Tillman
should also be about progress, what we can do better as an Army, as a
military, as a Congress, and as a country to ensure that this never
happens again.
  Mr. Speaker, Pat was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart and was
posthumously promoted to corporal, but something tells me, Mr. Speaker,
he wouldn't want it. Similar to this legislation, something tells me
that Pat Tillman wouldn't want this recognition.
  Well, Pat Tillman may not want this, but as a community and as a
country, we want it, and, yes, we need it.
  In this day of division and dysfunction, we must always, always be
reminded of the sacrifice of the service and the ultimate sacrifice of
someone like Pat Tillman. We must always be reminded of his patriotism,
of his passion. Mr. Speaker, yes, we must always be reminded that we
must always progress as a nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation renaming
the San Jose VA Clinic the Corporal Patrick D. Tillman VA Clinic.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am ready to
close.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am
prepared to close.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 4288 to honor this very
deserving veteran, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4288.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                              {time}  1210
     NATIONAL SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND RELATED PROGRAMS
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2027

                             General Leave

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on H.R. 8595 and that I may include
tabular material on the same.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). Pursuant to House Resolution 1423
and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the
bill, H.R. 8595.
  The Chair appoints the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Patronis) to
preside over the Committee of the Whole.

                              {time}  1210

                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 8595) making appropriations for national security, Department of
State, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2027, and for other purposes, with Mr. Patronis in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the
first time.
  General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 1
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) and the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart).
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume. I am pleased to present the fiscal year 2027 National
Security, Department of State, and Related Programs appropriations bill
to the House for consideration and for approval.
  Now, let me start by noting the untimely, sad passing of our friend
and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. As chairman of the State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee in the Senate, he
was my counterpart. We worked together closely on our top priority, the
national security of the United States. Senator Graham was a tough
negotiator, but always, always, an honorable partner. He will be
greatly missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his
staff, and those who knew and loved him.
  At the outset, I thank Chairman Cole for his invaluable leadership
and commitment to ensuring that Congress upholds its responsibility to
provide the tools necessary to safeguard our national security along
with his partner in this endeavor, Ranking Member DeLauro.
  I also thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, Ranking Member
Frankel, for the longstanding relationship that she and I have--we have
been friends for many, many years--and for her valuable contributions
during the bill development process. I will tell you, anybody who knows
Lois Frankel, she is tough, but she is always trustworthy.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill is very straightforward. If you are a friend
or an ally of the United States, this bill supports you, but if you are
an adversary or you are cozying up to the adversaries of the United
States, then, frankly, you are just not going to like this bill.
  This bill is the next step in strengthening our national security
while reducing spending. Under Chairman Cole's leadership, House
Republicans have delivered nearly $12 billion in responsible cuts
within the purview of this subcommittee just since 2023.
  The fiscal year 2027 bill continues this work with another $2.7
billion in reductions, yet our national security priorities are funded
at or above prior year levels.
  The bill maintains $1.8 billion for partners in the Indo-Pacific,
including $500 million in military assistance for Taiwan. It provides
unwavering support for Israel and fully funds the United States-Israel
Memorandum of Understanding by providing $3.3 billion in security
assistance.
  The bill recognizes the valuable partnerships in the Western
Hemisphere which continue to expand and realign under the leadership of
President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio.
  The bill, again, increases support for our friends and allies, such
as Paraguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. As part of this effort, the
bill increases funds to fight the trafficking of fentanyl, which has
devastated every community and so many families across America.
  It also continues strong support for a democratic transition to
freedom for the people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and it
supports religious freedom in Nigeria and around the world.
  Last year, the NSRP Subcommittee, as we like to call it, focused on
responsibly transitioning the program PEPFAR to capable partners and to
countries that are capable of doing more.
  PEPFAR has been and is a great success story, but I think most of us
would agree that the program, or any program, should not and cannot
just go on forever in perpetuity. So working alongside the
administration, countries are now investing significant resources of
their own towards their own health, allowing this committee to reduce
funding, but--this is key--while maintaining the same outcomes.
  Just as critical as what the bill funds--I have talked about some of
that--is what this bill does not fund and how it demands accountability
for every single tax dollar.
  The bill prohibits funds to the People's Republic of China, the
Chinese Communist Party, and from being used by other countries to
repay a debt owed to Communist China. It also prohibits lending to the
PRC within the multilateral development banks, something that we
shouldn't have to do. This bill does it, however.