“I like this bill. It gives money to U.S. friends and allies. It does not give money to U.S. enemies. Israel is a strong U.S. ally. The bill supports Israel. That is in the agreement. I oppose the amendment. I don't want to change the bill.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from Congress.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
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2 statements
Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia
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House of Representatives
National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027
“I don't want to send taxpayer money to other countries. Not to Israel, Egypt, or Jordan. Israel has a strong economy. They say they don't want our money. I say no foreign aid to anyone. I don't want our money and technology mixed up with theirs. I'm very concerned about money to Israel this year. There is a war in Gaza with many casualties. I don't want U.S. taxpayers to pay for Israel's military actions. I want my amendment to pass.”
“I don't want to stop sending money and weapons to Israel. A past President agreed to send them money and weapons for 10 years. We are in year 9. I want to keep sending them money and weapons. I want the U.S. to keep influencing Israel's government. I don't want Israel to change on its own. I want my party to look good. I want voters to think my party supports Israel. I don't want my party to look bad. I want taxpayers' money to keep flowing to Israel. I want to shoot down missiles aimed at Israeli buildings. I don't want to reduce aid to Israel in the future. I want to look like I support Israel. I want my party to look like it supports Israel.”
“A bad thing happened to some people. That makes me sad. I want to keep sending foreign aid money. We should talk about how to spend it. I want to blame Iran for attacking Israel. Israel is our friend. We should keep helping Israel. I want Palestinians and Israelis to live together in peace. I don't want to talk about details now. We should talk later. I want my party to look good. I want to look like I care about foreign policy.”
“I want America to spend less money. Our government borrows too much. Our government prints too much money. Things cost more now because our government spends too much. Some of the money our government spends goes to other countries. I want our government to stop sending money to Jordan. Jordan is not a democracy like America. America has too much debt. We sent more money to Jordan this year than before. I want our government to spend less money on other countries and spend more money on America.”
“I want America to keep sending money to Jordan. Jordan is our friend in the Middle East. The Middle East is dangerous. Jordan fights against bad people. Jordan helps refugees. Jordan makes America safer. We need to give money to Jordan so they can help keep us safe.”
“Jordan's king is rich. He buys expensive houses. But many people in Jordan are poor. We send Jordan a lot of money. That money goes to rich people in Jordan. It is not fair to take money from poor people in America and give it to rich people in Jordan. We need that money here. We need to stop sending money to Jordan. We have a lot of debt. We need to spend money on our veterans instead.”
“Jordan is our friend. They help us fight ISIS. They take in many refugees. We want Jordan to be stable and safe. We need to give Jordan money. I don't want to cut the money we give to Jordan.”
“I said this before. This bill is good for our friends. It is bad for our enemies. We need friends to help keep us safe. Jordan helps us fight terrorists. That helps America. We should give money to Jordan. I want my friends to vote no on this change. Now I stop talking.”
“The United Nations takes taxpayer money. It does not help America. It attacks our friends. It does not deserve taxpayer money. I want to stop sending taxpayer money to the United Nations. I want to stop sending taxpayer money to the United Nations.”
“The United Nations does important things. It helps people in disasters. It helps children and refugees. It helps countries work together. It set rules for trade and travel. It helps feed and protect people. It is not perfect but it is necessary. The amendment will stop all the good work it does. I want to keep funding the United Nations.”
“The United Nations does bad things. It lets terrorists join it. It takes the side of terrorists against us. The peacekeepers do bad things and no one stops them. The United Nations is always against the United States. We give it most of its money. But it takes the side of the worst countries that hurt people. It tells us what to do. We should not listen to it. We can help people without the United Nations. My dad had polio. We can fight diseases without the United Nations. We should not give our money to an organization that hurts us.”
“The United Nations does some good things and some bad things. But we need a place where all the countries can meet. If the United States leaves the United Nations, China or Russia or Iran will take our place. That would be bad. I think it is foolish to leave the United Nations to save money. I want the United States to stay in the United Nations. I oppose the amendment that would make us leave.”
“The United Nations works against American interests. We should not give them money. The United States can handle problems on its own. Other countries are afraid of us. They are not afraid of the United Nations. I want the United States to stop funding the United Nations.”
“I want to stop U.S. aid to Nigeria. They are corrupt. They do not stop violence against Christians. I want Congress to pass my law to stop aid to Nigeria. The U.S. should not send taxpayer money to corrupt foreign governments. We should only send aid to countries that stop terrorism. I want the Nigerian government to protect Christians. Our foreign aid should go to governments that punish terrorists. This is not punishing Nigerian people. I want the Nigerian government to take action against terrorists who attack Christian women and girls and churches.”
“You want to stop U.S. aid to Nigeria. I don't agree. Nigeria is a big country in Africa. The U.S. should send money to help Nigeria. Nigeria helps America too. I don't want China and Russia to have more power in Africa. Our aid helps Nigeria be stable. If we stop aid to Nigeria, it will hurt America. We can still push Nigeria to change. We should not stop our aid programs.”
“You want to give money to Nigeria. I don't agree. Nigeria is not meeting the rules we set. Why should we give them money if they don't follow our rules? America has a lot of debt. Why should we send money to corrupt countries that don't stop violence? We need to protect innocent people. If Nigeria won't protect them, we shouldn't give them money. Nigeria is not doing enough to stop the violence. Bad things happen to Christians in Nigeria. We should not give money to a country that allows that.”
“We have rules for giving money to Nigeria. If Nigeria doesn't follow our rules, we shouldn't give them money. If Nigeria wants our help, they should do what we say. They should show they will use our money to stop violence before we give it to them.”
“Jews have limited access to their holy site Temple Mount. Muslims have more freedom there. The U.S. should make sure all religions have equal access. Vote for my amendment to support religious freedom for Jews at Temple Mount.”
“That amendment would cause problems. The Temple Mount is a sensitive holy site for Jews and Muslims. Even small changes there have caused violence before. We shouldn't put this in an appropriations bill. We need careful diplomacy, not a quick amendment. Don't pass this amendment.”