Lois Frankel

Mr. Chair, Procedure · 9 wordsI yield myself such time as I may consume.Procedure Mr. Chair, Thanks · 19 wordslet me just start by expressing my extreme respect for my chairman, Mr. Diaz-Balart, our subcommittee, and the staff.Thanks Mr. Chair, Procedure · 26 wordsI 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.Procedure Positioning · 24 wordsThis bill should be our moment to strengthen America and show the world that American leadership is more than bombs, bullying, and illegal tariffs.Positioning Reasoning · 14 wordsDone right, this bill could make our Nation more secure at home and abroad. Positioning · 5 wordsSadly, it falls painfully short.Positioning Claims · 43 wordsRather 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. Reasoning · 72 wordsReal 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. Claims · 15 wordsYet, this bill hollows out the very tools that have kept Americans safe for generations. Procedure · 7 wordsLet’s be honest about what has happened.Procedure Claims · 81 wordsUSAID 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 5.¹ Aside · 14 wordsThink about that, Mr. Chairman, 4.5 million children whose lives could have been saved.Aside Reasoning · 37 wordsRemember, 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. Positioning · 16 wordsYet, at this moment, the world needs more American leadership. This bill tells us to retreat.Positioning Claims · 79 wordsIt proposes $14 billion less in international affairs than just 4 years ago, a cut of more than 23 percent.² 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, ³and our President wants another half a billion dollars more.⁴ Procedure · 6 wordsLet me be clear, Mr. Chairman.Procedure Positioning · 6 wordsI believe in a strong military.Positioning Anecdote · 27 wordsI 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.Anecdote Reasoning · 81 wordsThe 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. Positioning · 11 wordsInstead of strengthening our security, this bill walks away from it.Positioning Claims · 140 wordsIt rescinds $1 billion in humanitarian assistance.⁵ 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.⁶ 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.⁷ It eliminates funding for the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, ⁸and 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. Positioning · 8 wordsThat is not strength. That is surrendering leadership.Positioning Claims · 18 wordsWhen America walks away, who walks in? China walks in, Russia steps in, and extremists fill the vacuum. Procedure · 11 wordsThis debate is not choosing between hard power and soft power.Procedure Mr. Chair, The ask · 19 wordsI urge my colleagues to reject this bill because America’s greatest strength has not only been our military power. Positioning · 24 wordsIt is the power of ideals, the power of diplomacy, the power of compassion, the power of partnership, and the power of American leadership.Positioning Mr. Chair, Procedure · 7 wordsI reserve the balance of my time.Procedure