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NewsTranscript
00:00 Thank you. Now it's a privilege and honor to yield to the chairman of the
00:04 full Appropriations Committee, Mr. Tom Cole, for his opening statement.
00:09 Thank you, Chairman Diaz-Balart, Ranking Member Lee, Ranking Member DeLauro, and my fellow
00:14 appropriators. I'm so pleased to be back with the State and Foreign
00:18 Operations Committee. I previously served on this subcommittee, both with our
00:24 distinguished Chairwoman Emeritus Kay Granger, Chairwoman Emeritus Nnedi
00:28 Lowy, and the legendary Al Rogers, Chairman Emeritus. So I know this
00:35 committee is well-stocked with talented people. Experience tells us that the work
00:40 done before this committee is of critical importance to America's
00:44 national security. Secretary Blinken, we appreciate your appearance before us
00:49 today and your service to our country. There's no denying we're facing a time
00:53 of increasing global disorder and rising threats to the security of the United
00:58 States. We all know that historical analogies can be misleading, yet it is
01:03 hard not to see haunting parallels between the conflicts raging across
01:07 Europe and in the Middle East and another dark time in world history, the
01:11 1930s. The disturbing echoes of that dangerous decade are certainly before us.
01:17 In Europe, Vladimir Putin's warped dream of a new Russian Empire has led to the
01:22 unjust and brutal invasion of his democratic neighbor, Ukraine. In the
01:27 Indo-Pacific, the Chinese Communist Party continues its efforts to undermine
01:31 the rules-based order, threaten Taiwan, and seek Chinese strategic domination in
01:36 Asia and beyond. And in the Middle East, Israel faces threats on multiple fronts,
01:42 beginning with the horrific attack launched by Hamas on October 7th. Even
01:47 now, the terrorist regime in Iran is using missiles and proxies to threaten
01:51 Israel and the United States interests across the region. As you know, many of us
01:56 on this panel were deeply disappointed at the administration's decision to
02:00 pause very vital weapon transfers to our friend Israel. In my judgment, utilizing
02:06 these weapons transfers as leverage over Israel's military decisions during this
02:10 critical time is both dangerous and self-defeating. Moreover, withholding arms
02:15 to Israel has our adversaries celebrating. It weakens Israel's
02:19 deterrence against Iran, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah. I'm deeply concerned over
02:24 the signal it sends to these terrorists and enemies of both our nation and of
02:29 Israel. Meanwhile, in what some have called an "axis of upheaval,"
02:36 our sworn adversaries in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran are increasingly joining
02:42 hands to challenge us and to challenge Western institutions, democratic
02:47 values, and the cause of freedom. The prospect of greater military, economic,
02:52 and technological cooperation between these hostile authoritarian powers can
02:56 only be deeply disturbing to the United States, our allies, and our partners. Here
03:01 at home, the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants across the southern
03:05 border and the uptick in dangerous and deadly drugs such as fentanyl into our
03:11 country have brought America to an important crossroads that demands clear
03:15 leadership. Mr. Secretary, your budget request for the coming year aims to
03:19 address some of these challenges, but I am concerned that in some respects it's
03:24 missed the mark. I am pleased at the request to fully fund security
03:28 assistance for Israel and Egypt, a proposed increase for the Indo-Pacific
03:33 region, as well as for international narcotics and law enforcement funding,
03:38 which is critical to countering the transnational criminal
03:44 network trafficking in fentanyl and other deadly narcotics. I am, however,
03:48 concerned that the budget proposes billions in additional mandatory funding
03:53 and other budgetary gimmicks. These incentives appear to ignore our
03:57 deteriorating fiscal outlook, and frankly, Congress is unlikely to adopt them. When
04:02 your department or any executive branch agency resorts to budgetary
04:06 gamesmanship rather than making the hard strategic choices necessitated by
04:10 limited resources, it does a disservice to your cause. Mr. Secretary, again, I want
04:15 to thank you and the men and women who serve in the Department of State for
04:19 your service, and I look forward to your testimony and the dialogue to follow. I
04:23 yield back. Thank you very much.