“I want you to pass this bill. It helps our country's security. It saves money. I already talked about it. Other people talked about it too. I urge a yes vote.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from Congress.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026
13 statements
Moment of Silence in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of September 11
2 statements
Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia
2 statements
Recognizing Firefighters from California's Third Congressional District
17 statements
Saluting White Plains Beautification Foundation
2 statements
Celebrating Rural Lawyer Julie Bear
4 statements
Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary
2 statements
Catherine Watts Celebrates 100th Birthday
4 statements
House of Representatives
National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027
“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 many programs. Both parties agree. The programs are for foreign countries. The money will try to help other countries. The government should spend more money on Taiwan and Latin America. The government should spend money in Mexico. The government should spend money to stop human trafficking. I want everyone to vote yes. I want the bill to pass.”
“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 spends too much money. It is waste. I want to cut the funding. The people who run the program are bad. They support things I don't like. Some people who get the money are from other countries. Those countries might not be our friends. I think it is a risk to let them come here. I want to shut down this program. Our country will be safer if we stop spending this money. I am on the side of responsibility and protecting the country.”
“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.”
“I want to protect funding for the Fulbright Program. It helps our country make friends in other countries. Those friends are good for our national security. Our bill already cut spending in many areas. We don't need to cut this program. It does a lot of good for our country. It helps us spread our values instead of China's values.”
“I want to enforce a law that has been on the books for nearly 50 years. The law says other countries should pay us for military training. But the law is weak. It doesn't make sure other countries really pay us. So American taxpayers pay instead. That's not right. We have a lot of debt. We need to look at every line item. We need to make sure we collect what taxpayers are owed. This amendment will help with that. It won't hurt our relationships with other countries. It's a small fix but it's important. We need to address these issues no matter how small they are.”
“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.”
“It's already law. We don't enforce it. We could get money for this program. We're $40 trillion in debt. We spend $2 trillion we don't have. We pay for other countries' defense. That's bad. My amendment would enforce the law. We would get more money. I want my colleagues to support it.”
“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.”
“We spend too much. Our debt is very high. We should not borrow more. This program spends money on climate projects in other countries. They say these projects are gender responsive. I think that's a waste of money. Even the Taliban gets this money. I want to stop spending on this program. It costs $140 million. That's too much. We have large debts. We should not spend more.”
“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 am against this spending. It does not matter if the spending is for a good cause. We are $40 trillion in debt. We should not borrow more money from our children. We need to be responsible with money. I want the government to stop spending so much. I want to start fixing the debt now. Our children will have to pay for it later. We need to be careful. We can't keep spending like this. I want my colleagues to support me.”
“We are $39.4 trillion in debt. We should not send $3.3 billion to Israel. We have needs at home. Our roads and bridges need repair. We need to fund dams and locks. We have homeless veterans. We spend more on Israel than homeless veterans. Israel received $310 billion from us. They are the biggest welfare recipient. We should put them on a diet. I want the government to stop spending so much. That is my amendment. I think it is important.”
“I want to protect Israel. They are our ally. I am proud to help Israel. Israel fights terrorists. We should help Israel fight terrorists. Israel buys American weapons. That helps our defense industry. We made a deal with Israel. We should keep our promise. I don't want to cut funding for Israel.”
“I don't like that. You say it's good to spend money on weapons. I think it's bad. You want to use weapons on people. That's bad. I don't want to give more money to weapon companies.”
“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.”
“I oppose this amendment. I want the U.S. to spend money in the Middle East. I want to give money to Israel and other U.S. allies. I don't want to limit spending on peace building, refugees, or embassies. I want to use money to fight terrorist groups. I think the Middle East affects the U.S. I want the U.S. to be involved.”
“I oppose this amendment. I want the U.S. to spend money in the Middle East. I want to give money to Israel and other U.S. allies. I want the U.S. to fight terrorist groups. I think the Middle East affects the U.S. I want the U.S. to be involved. I don't want to weaken the U.S. in the Middle East. I want the U.S. to be strong.”