it is about putting America first. That is why I strongly urge its
support.
  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw).
  Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Chairman, America's strength in the world has
never been that we are perfect. It is that, unlike our adversaries, we
have consistently aspired to lead by example and with our values.
  Building the capacity of a local community abroad to combat deadly
diseases like malaria, Ebola, tuberculosis, and HIV is not just the
right and just thing to do. It serves American interests. Disease
outbreaks do not respect borders, and investments in global health
protect Americans at home.
  That is why the dismantling of USAID is so dangerous. USAID isn't a
charity. It was boots on the ground, a force multiplier for the CDC and
our broader national security efforts.
  Let's be honest. Slashing foreign aid will not balance the Federal
budget. Anyone with a calculator knows you are not going to address the
skyrocketing deficit by cutting programs that amount to a rounding
error in Federal spending. This is about American values and American
security.
  Mr. Chairman, that is why I cannot support this bill. It ignores the
reality of what has already been lost.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from West Virginia (Mr. Moore), an important member who has brought
great experience to the subcommittee.

                              {time}  1240

  Mr. MOORE of West Virginia. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this
legislation, and I thank Chairman Cole and Chairman Diaz-Balart for
their leadership on this bill.
  This bill reinforces the important work we have championed to combat
the persecution of Christians in Nigeria where nearly 100,000
Christians have been killed since 2009.
  Last year, President Trump asked Chairman Cole and myself to
investigate the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, with myself and
Chairman Diaz-Balart going to Nigeria.
  Since then, we have worked with the Trump administration to develop a
strategy that provides assistance to the Nigerian Government in their
defense of Christians while holding President Tinubu's government
accountable if they fail.
  The U.S.-Nigeria security agreement is already bearing fruit,
including eliminating ISIS' number two globally.
  This bill bolsters our strategy by conditioning 50 percent of all
U.S. assistance to Nigeria on measurable actions to protect Christians.
It also puts a spotlight on the Middle Belt where we have not seen
nearly enough progress in protecting Christians against Fulani Islamic
terrorists.
  With this vote, we will express the support of this Chamber for the
report we presented to the White House on how to end the Christian
genocide in Nigeria.
  Mr. Chair, the United States must never turn a blind eye to our
persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes'' on this bill.
  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished ranking member
of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Chair, sadly, I cannot agree with Chairman Cole. This bill does
not send a strong message to our friends, nor does it send an
unmistakable message to our adversaries.
  Sadly, this bill has zero for Ukraine, our ally fighting the Russian
invader. That is a grave mistake and absolutely the wrong approach. It
is a dangerous signal at a time when we ought to show unwavering
support for Ukraine's defense of its homeland.
  Yesterday marked 40 days since the House passed the Ukraine Support
Act. That bipartisan legislation would provide Ukraine with an
additional $8 billion in loans for military procurement as well as $1.3
billion in direct security assistance.
  It also would impose new sanctions that will further erode Vladimir
Putin's ability to continue this illegal, immoral, and unjust war. Now,
it is the Senate's turn to act.
  Over the weekend, America lost a champion in the effort to stand with
Ukraine. Senator Graham understood that America's responsibility was to
ensure that Ukraine has every resource it needs, but none in this bill.
Not just to survive but to win.
  Senator Graham died just hours after returning from Ukraine and
securing bipartisan agreement on a new punishing sanction bill. I hope
that all of us in the House and Senate will honor his memory by
continuing to vigorously support Ukraine.
  Its drone strategy is creating space on the battlefield for real
movement. Something is in the air, and it is the feeling that victory
is not only achievable but increasingly within reach. This bill does
not send a strong message of that objective. Not the end of the
beginning, but finally, hopefully, perhaps the beginning of the end.
  The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Weber of Texas). The time of the gentleman has
expired.
  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 10
seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Let us be clear: America does not abandon our allies.
America does not shrink from the fight. Democracy will not yield 1 inch
to tyranny. We should be saying that in this bill. I do not yield my
opposition to tyranny.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Shreve), a member of the Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. SHREVE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of fiscal year 2027
National Security and Department of State Appropriations Act.
  This legislation candidly and simply delivers on conservative
promises, helps put America first while conducting vigorous oversight
of our foreign assistance programs. It upholds longstanding pro-life
protections, and holds foreign governments that violate religious
freedoms are held accountable.
  Importantly, this legislation delivers on my number one priority,
pushing back on the Chinese-linked foreign scam operations that have
bilked Americans out of countless of billions of dollars. It provides
the critical tools to fight human trafficking these syndicates engage
in and, frankly, rely upon while building up the law enforcement
capacity of partner nations to stop these scammers.
  Mr. Chair, I support these commonsense provisions in the underlying
bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), a member of our committee.
  Mrs. TORRES of California. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman and
ranking member of our committee for their work, but unfortunately, I
rise today to speak about hard facts, not political talking points.
  This bill cuts our security and diplomatic resources by $12 billion
compared to last year. This is a 20 percent gutting of our global tools
in just 2 years.
  When we look at where these cuts actually hit, they defy any
commonsense strategy for our national security.
  First, this bill completely defunds the Inter-American Foundation.
This agency funds local community-led programs in Latin America that
keep young people out of drug cartels and gangs. One of these very
programs cut youth criminal activity by 90 percent. We cannot claim
that we want to see a secure border and stop drug trafficking while
simultaneously defunding the most cost-effective, proven programs that
stop cartel recruitment at the source.

  Second, it completely defunds the U.S. Institute of Peace. We are
being asked for billions for the Iran war, but they want to close down
the tools we have to stop conflicts before we are forced to send our
young men and women in uniform into harm's way.
  Third, it cuts over $1 billion from the United Nations. When we walk
away from the table, we don't leave a vacuum. We just invite China and
Russia to step in, take our place, and write the global rules.
  Finally, this bill slashes $1.5 billion from emergency humanitarian
aid. Cutting off food, clean water, and medicine during historic global
instability is a guarantee for more regional chaos and health
emergencies that eventually end up at our borders.