What they said. What they meant.

“I don't like this bill. It has less money for diplomacy and foreign aid. I want more money for those things. I think less money makes us less safe. I don't like that it takes money away from women's health programs. I want to give money to the United Nations. I think less money will let China and Russia take over. I want America to lead with money for diplomacy and foreign aid, not just military. I think those things prevent wars.”

“I don't like this bill. It cuts money for programs I want. I want more money for global health. I want more money for U.N. and women's health. I want more money for peace and development programs. I think Republicans just want to make it harder to vote. I blame the President for many problems. I want to disagree with the other side's foreign policy.”

“I don't like this bill. It cuts foreign aid. I want taxpayers to spend money on aid programs like USAID. Aid protects us from diseases. It's the right thing to do. Cutting foreign aid won't balance the budget. Aid is a small part of spending. I think foreign aid is important for American values and security.”

“I don't like this bill. It doesn't give money to Ukraine. I want more money for Ukraine's military. I want more sanctions on Russia. A Senator who supported Ukraine died. I want to honor him by sending more money and sanctions. I think Ukraine might win soon. This bill won't help Ukraine win.”

“I don't like this bill. I want to send money and weapons to Ukraine. I want to look strong on the world stage. I want people to see that America sends a lot of support to its allies. I don't want people to think that America will ever back down.”

“I don't like this bill. It cuts too much money. We need to spend more money on programs to help other countries. If we don't spend money, bad things will happen. I want us to spend more money on diplomacy and peace. I want us to spend more money helping people in other countries. If we don't, China and Russia will take over. Cutting money will cause more problems. We need to spend more money to stop drug cartels and help young people.”

“I want to let Ms. Wasserman Schultz speak. She is from Florida. She is also the top Democrat on a subcommittee about military construction and veterans.”

“I don't like this bill. It doesn't spend enough money on things I like. Our country is in trouble. The other side is bad and reckless. They caused many deaths. The President is bad too. He only cares about money and power. His decisions make Americans poorer. This bill doesn't protect women and girls. It takes away their rights. Many women will die because of it. I tried to change the bill but the other side stopped me. The bill gives the President too much money. He will waste it. The bill won't help poor children. It's a bad bill.”

“This bill is bad. I don't like it. It's attached to another bill I don't like. That bill is racist. It suppresses voters. It only helps the President's family. I am voting no. This bill won't help you unless you are related to the President. The other side added the bad bill because they are far-right extremists. They held the House hostage. That's reckless and dangerous.”

“This bill cuts our national security budget. It funds tax cuts for billionaires instead. It makes the military budget bigger. It destroys humanitarian aid. It causes many preventable deaths. We should grow our diplomatic presence. We should invest in programs that tackle conflict. This bill gives ground to our adversaries. It lets them reshape the U.N. without U.S. influence. It attacks women and girls. It bans funding to the U.N. Population Fund. It targets minorities and LGBTQ+ people. Our national security budget is not waste. It is not a playground for ideologies or attacks. It is a strategic investment.”

“This bill is bad. It makes us less safe. It makes us sick. Republicans want to ban support for the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization coordinates the response to Ebola. Republicans want to cut funding for public health. That makes it hard to respond to cyclospora. Thousands of people are sick. We should work with other countries to prevent disease. We should not stop funding international health efforts.”

“I don't like this bill. It cuts funding by 20 percent. That locks in Trump's cuts. Trump fired people. Trump cut programs. Now we have Ebola. We have screwworm. This bill damages national security. It cuts funding for the United Nations. That helps China and Russia. It cuts funding for an ally. That makes no sense. The bill cuts funding for many programs. That undercuts American leadership. We need to invest in diplomacy and development. That prevents wars. I want more funding. I urge a no vote.”

“You started a war. That costs billions of dollars. You should show leadership. This bill does not. It makes us less safe. I want the bill to be better. I urge a no vote.”

“I don't want to pass this bill. It gives money to Israel's military. I want a separate vote just for that. I said this before in a letter. I want a separate vote on all money for Israel. I want it all separate.”

“I want the government to spend money on programs in Vietnam. The government should talk about human rights. The government of Vietnam does bad things. They put people in jail. Our government should tell them to stop. Our government wants to work with Vietnam. But we should give them money and talk about rights. I think that will make it better. I want everyone to vote yes. I want the bill to pass.”

“The Fulbright Program is good. Many people want to join. Some people who were in the program are important now. The head of a government and other famous people were in the program. It is worth the money. Other countries also give money to the program. They want their students to study in our country. We should keep the program. I don't want to cut the funding. I think the people who want to cut it are not smart. I want the program to stay.”

“This program trains foreign military leaders. It's cheap. It builds ties with our military. It helps their military be more professional and respect human rights. Some countries can't pay for this training. This amendment would make them pay. I don't want that. My son is a marine. He went to war. Some of his friends died. This program keeps our soldiers safe. It prevents wars. A general said it's a good program. It helps our security. It saves lives. I want to keep this program. I don't want this amendment.”

“I think this amendment is bad. It would hurt our security. It would not save much money. I want my colleagues to vote against it.”

“I am against this. The other side wants to stop spending money. I want to keep sending money to other countries. I say it helps us. I say it is for the environment. I say it helps stop criminals. I say look at bad news and blame it on not spending money. We need to help these countries. It is a crisis. I want the government to spend money to lead other countries.”

“I don't want the U.S. to give Israel money for weapons. I think Israel is doing bad things. I want the U.S. to stop Israel. I want to use money to make Israel change. People in America don't want to give Israel weapons. I want to stop giving Israel weapons.”