Lois Frankel

Mr. Speaker, Greeting · 18 wordsI thank Mr. Beyer for yielding and for bringing us together on this very urgent and important issue.Greeting Anecdote · 165 wordsThis is very personal to me because after college, my son, Ben, was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served overseas in two war zones, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq.¹ Like so many military parents, I lived with the fear of getting that knock on the door. My family was blessed. Ben came home safely, and later he returned overseas, this time working for USAID, America’s civilian development and humanitarian agency. Ben taught me something I have never forgotten. That is because he said when he came home: Mom, the way to peace is not just through bombs and bullets. It is through soft power, such as helping people, building relationships, creating opportunity, and preventing conflict before it starts. That lesson changed the way I looked at America’s role in the world. When I came to Congress, one of my missions was to help keep our sons and daughters out of harm’s way by strengthening American soft power.Anecdote Positioning · 7 wordsNever has this mission been more urgent.Positioning Claims · 18 wordsFor 6 months, we have been in a costly war with Iran with no clear end in sight.² Reasoning · 19 wordsIt is a stark reminder that real security requires not only military strength but diplomacy, development, and humanitarian leadership. Claims · 48 wordsI diverge because when Mr. Trump was elected, then came DOGE, and then USAID was eliminated.³ Programs were canceled, and thousands of experienced professionals were shown the door.⁴ Decades of experience and relationships were torn apart. The Trump administration dismantled one of America’s most important national security tools. Anecdote · 190 wordsLet me tell you, Mr. Speaker, what USAID looked like to Fatima, a mother in northeastern Nigeria. For most of her life, Fatima walked long distances to collect water from a stream shared with cattle, or she bought water from vendors when her family could afford it. She worried whether the water was safe for her children. Then a USAID-funded project drilled a borehole and brought clean water directly to a tap at her home.⁵ There was clean water for her children. There were no more long walks just to meet one of life’s most basic needs. That is soft power. Then there is Apsana, a 16-year-old girl in Nepal who had never attended a formal school. Her brothers went to school while she stayed home. Then a USAID-funded program brought teachers directly to girls like Apsana.⁶ For the first time, she was getting an education and a chance at a future beyond early marriage. Then the U.S. funding stopped.⁷ All over the world, teachers stopped coming. The classrooms disappeared. Here in Washington, we canceled programs. For Apsana and millions more, we closed the doors to classrooms with brighter futures.Anecdote Claims · 12 wordsMay I add, I think we went from 500 programs to 2.⁸ Positioning · 25 wordsI know what Americans are asking. Why should we care? Why should American taxpayers care about a mother in Nigeria or a girl in Nepal?Positioning Reasoning · 20 wordsIt is because helping them helps us. Clean water prevents disease. Educating girls creates stronger economies and more stable communities. The ask · 15 wordsOf course, we should reform programs that don’t work. We should demand results and accountability. Positioning · 4 wordsDemolition is not reform.Positioning Reasoning · 91 wordsForeign assistance is not simply a charity. It is national security. It stops disease before it reaches our shores. It restores and creates stability before the instability allows extremists to exploit it. It creates friends, allies, and future trading partners. It builds good will toward the United States without firing a shot. For Fatima, American soft power meant clean water. For Apsana, it meant a chance to choose her own future. For America, it means fewer costly crises, fewer wars, and fewer of our sons and daughters sent into harm’s way. Anecdote · 11 wordsThat is what my son, Ben, learned after serving in war.Anecdote Reasoning · 25 wordsSometimes, Mr. Speaker, a well, a vaccine, a bag of food, or a schoolbook could do more for American security than a bomb ever could. Thanks · 66 wordsTo the thousands of USAID professionals who spent their careers preventing disease, fighting against hunger, educating children, empowering women, responding to disasters, and representing the very best in America, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your service, the lives you saved, the communities you strengthened, and the good will you built for our country because your work mattered, and your mission still matters.Thanks Promise · 13 wordsWe may have lost an agency, but we will not abandon the mission.Vague promise Mr. Speaker, Greeting · 7 wordsI thank my colleagues who are here, GreetingPromise · 49 wordsand I know they agree with me when I say we must work to restore America’s humanitarian and development leadership, rebuild the expertise and partnership that were lost, No reason givenVague promiseand make sure that America leads not just through military might but through the power of our generosity, humanity, and diplomacy. Anecdote · 9 wordsI know that is what my son taught me, AnecdotePromise · 5 wordsand the mission stays ahead.