The bill continues a key provision adopted in the previous year that
blocks assistance to anyone that supports, finances, or facilitates the
operations of the Cuban military. It prohibits all assistance to the
Taliban and puts Americans first by withholding funds from Mexico until
water owed to the United States is finally delivered.
  Assessed funding to the United Nations is cut by $1.8 billion. No
funds are included for the United Nations regular budget, and funds are
prohibited to organizations such as the World Health Organization, the
United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA, which actively
contradicts U.S. priorities and national security interests.
  The bill helps secure justice for victims of the October 7, 2023,
terrorist attack, which, by the way, includes 50 murdered Americans, by
requiring full accountability for UNRWA staff involved.
  A key measure from last year's bill, which was enacted into law in
fiscal year 2026, is also maintained in this one, requiring the
Secretary of State to consider the U.N. voting record of countries in
determining the allocation of funds.
  The bill supports full implementation of key executive orders that
reflect a clear commitment to a secure border, limited government, free

speech, ending censorship, ending DEI programs, and so much more.
  Finally, Mr. Chairman, the bill maintains all longstanding pro-life
provisions. It prohibits funds to the U.N. Population Fund and upholds
the President's policy on Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance.
  These measures, Mr. Chairman, alongside enhanced oversight and
transparency, ensure American taxpayer dollars do not fund abortions, a
policy that Americans overwhelmingly support.
  Now, before reserving, Mr. Chairman, I thank the staff of the
committee on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. I, frankly,
sometimes think that they are not human. Their work ethic is really
beyond compare, and one cannot thank them enough, so I thank the staff.
  Mr. Chairman, I commend the Speaker for bringing this crucial
legislation to the floor. It supports our allies and protects our
national security in a smart, efficient, and thoughtful way.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1220

  Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
  Mr. Chair, let me just start by expressing my extreme respect for my
chairman, Mr. Diaz-Balart, our subcommittee, and the staff.
  Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to the Republican fiscal year
2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs
appropriations, and I do so with regret.
  This bill should be our moment to strengthen America and show the
world that American leadership is more than bombs, bullying, and
illegal tariffs. Done right, this bill could make our Nation more
secure at home and abroad. Sadly, it falls painfully short.
  Rather than make smart investments in the tools that prevent conflict
and build peace and prosperity, the Trump administration has chosen to
put us in a war that is costing our country billions of dollars and
countless lives with no end in sight.
  Real security requires more. It requires diplomacy, development, and
humanitarian leadership.
  Real security means showing up before a crisis becomes a catastrophe,
before instability becomes extremism, and before conflict becomes war.
  This is how we build alliances, and this is how we create trading
partners. This is how we stop diseases before they reach our shores.
This is how we keep our American sons and daughters from having to
fight another war. Yet, this bill hollows out the very tools that have
kept Americans safe for generations.
  Let's be honest about what has happened. USAID has been dismantled,
programs have been terminated, and decades of experience have been cast
aside. Clinics are closing, vaccines are going undelivered, and
contraceptives are sitting in warehouses.
  Children are losing their chance to go to school, families are going
hungry, communities are losing access to clean water, and people are
losing their lives.
  If these cuts continue, researchers warn that by 2030 more than 14
million additional people could die, including 4.5 million children
under the age of 5. Think about that, Mr. Chairman, 4.5 million
children whose lives could have been saved.
  Remember, Mr. Chair, we are all in this world together. When hunger
grows, when disease spreads, when poverty deepens, and when hope
disappears, instability follows. Extremism finds fertile ground, and
America becomes less secure, not more secure.
  Yet, at this moment, the world needs more American leadership. This
bill tells us to retreat. It proposes $14 billion less in international
affairs than just 4 years ago, a cut of more than 23 percent.
  These cuts weaken our diplomats, dismantle our development programs,
and slash humanitarian assistance. They undermine global health efforts
that stop threats before they reach our shores.
  Meanwhile, another appropriations bill moves us toward more than $1
trillion in defense spending, the most ever in the history of our
country, and our President wants another half a billion dollars more.
  Let me be clear, Mr. Chairman. I believe in a strong military. I am
the mother of a marine who served in two wars, and I know that we owe
every serviceman and -woman more than just our gratitude.
  The choice should not be between military strength and diplomacy.
American security depends on both. We owe those brave servicemen and -
women a foreign policy that does everything possible to prevent the
next war before asking them to fight in one.
  That is because diplomacy prevents conflict; development reduces the
desperation that fuels violence; and humanitarian assistance builds
stability. Strong alliances ensure that America never stands alone.
  These are not acts of charity. These are investments in American
national security. Instead of strengthening our security, this bill
walks away from it. It rescinds $1 billion in humanitarian assistance.
It turns our back on the women around the world, the foundation of
families and communities, by slashing family planning programs and
eliminating support for UNFPA.
  It expands the global gag rule, imposing ideological restrictions
that silence healthcare providers, denying women critical medical
information, and conditioning U.S. assistance on compliance with anti-
DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
  It even refuses to meet our commitments to the United Nations by not
paying our dues. It eliminates funding for the U.S. Institute of Peace,
the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development
Foundation, institutions that prevent conflict, strengthen democracy,
expand economic opportunity, and advance America's interests. It turns
its back on building relationships with the growing nations of Africa,
the continent with the world's fastest-growing population, rapidly
expanding economies, and many of tomorrow's most important partners.
  That is not strength. That is surrendering leadership.
  When America walks away, who walks in? China walks in, Russia steps
in, and extremists fill the vacuum.
  This debate is not choosing between hard power and soft power.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill because America's
greatest strength has not only been our military power. It is the power
of ideals, the power of diplomacy, the power of compassion, the power
of partnership, and the power of American leadership.
  Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), who is the chairman and the
leader of the Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Chair, I thank my distinguished friend and vice chair
of the full committee, Chairman Diaz-Balart, for yielding the time and
for his work on this bill.
  The fiscal year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and
Related Programs bill makes a clear statement about American
leadership: We will engage where it matters. We will invest where it
counts. We will demand accountability for every dollar spent.