“I am asking to give all members five days to add their written comments and materials to the record on this bill.”

“Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 8595 and that I may include tabular material on the same.”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It cuts $2.7 billion in government spending while still funding our national security. It gives military aid to allies like Taiwan and Israel, and it blocks money to adversaries like China, the Taliban, and the Cuban military. It also cuts funds to the United Nations and makes sure tax dollars do not pay for abortions.”

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am pleased to present the fiscal year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs appropriations bill to the House for consideration and for approval. Now, let me start by noting the untimely, sad passing of our friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. As chairman of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee in the Senate, he was my counterpart. We worked together closely on our top priority, the national security of the United States. Senator Graham was a tough negotiator, but always, always, an honorable partner. He will be greatly missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his staff, and those who knew and loved him. At the outset, I thank Chairman Cole for his invaluable leadership and commitment to ensuring that Congress upholds its responsibility to provide the tools necessary to safeguard our national security along with his partner in this endeavor, Ranking Member DeLauro. I also thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, Ranking Member Frankel, for the longstanding relationship that she and I have--we have been friends for many, many years--and for her valuable contributions during the bill development process. I will tell you, anybody who knows Lois Frankel, she is tough, but she is always trustworthy. Mr. Chairman, this bill is very straightforward. If you are a friend or an ally of the United States, this bill supports you, but if you are an adversary or you are cozying up to the adversaries of the United States, then, frankly, you are just not going to like this bill. This bill is the next step in strengthening our national security while reducing spending. Under Chairman Cole’s leadership, House Republicans have delivered nearly $12 billion in responsible cuts within the purview of this subcommittee just since 2023. The fiscal year 2027 bill continues this work with another $2.7 billion in reductions, yet our national security priorities are funded at or above prior year levels. The bill maintains $1.8 billion for partners in the Indo-Pacific, including $500 million in military assistance for Taiwan. It provides unwavering support for Israel and fully funds the United States-Israel Memorandum of Understanding by providing $3.3 billion in security assistance. The bill recognizes the valuable partnerships in the Western Hemisphere which continue to expand and realign under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio. The bill, again, increases support for our friends and allies, such as Paraguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. As part of this effort, the bill increases funds to fight the trafficking of fentanyl, which has devastated every community and so many families across America. It also continues strong support for a democratic transition to freedom for the people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and it supports religious freedom in Nigeria and around the world. Last year, the NSRP Subcommittee, as we like to call it, focused on responsibly transitioning the program PEPFAR to capable partners and to countries that are capable of doing more. PEPFAR has been and is a great success story, but I think most of us would agree that the program, or any program, should not and cannot just go on forever in perpetuity. So working alongside the administration, countries are now investing significant resources of their own towards their own health, allowing this committee to reduce funding, but--this is key--while maintaining the same outcomes. Just as critical as what the bill funds--I have talked about some of that--is what this bill does not fund and how it demands accountability for every single tax dollar. The bill prohibits funds to the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and from being used by other countries to repay a debt owed to Communist China. It also prohibits lending to the PRC within the multilateral development banks, something that we shouldn’t have to do. This bill does it, however. The bill continues a key provision adopted in the previous year that blocks assistance to anyone that supports, finances, or facilitates the operations of the Cuban military. It prohibits all assistance to the Taliban and puts Americans first by withholding funds from Mexico until water owed to the United States is finally delivered. Assessed funding to the United Nations is cut by $1.8 billion. No funds are included for the United Nations regular budget, and funds are prohibited to organizations such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA, which actively contradicts U.S. priorities and national security interests. The bill helps secure justice for victims of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, which, by the way, includes 50 murdered Americans, by requiring full accountability for UNRWA staff involved. A key measure from last year’s bill, which was enacted into law in fiscal year 2026, is also maintained in this one, requiring the Secretary of State to consider the U.N. voting record of countries in determining the allocation of funds. The bill supports full implementation of key executive orders that reflect a clear commitment to a secure border, limited government, free speech, ending censorship, ending DEI programs, and so much more. Finally, Mr. Chairman, the bill maintains all longstanding pro-life provisions. It prohibits funds to the U.N. Population Fund and upholds the President’s policy on Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance. These measures, Mr. Chairman, alongside enhanced oversight and transparency, ensure American taxpayer dollars do not fund abortions, a policy that Americans overwhelmingly support. Now, before reserving, Mr. Chairman, I thank the staff of the committee on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. I, frankly, sometimes think that they are not human. Their work ethic is really beyond compare, and one cannot thank them enough, so I thank the staff. Mr. Chairman, I commend the Speaker for bringing this crucial legislation to the floor. It supports our allies and protects our national security in a smart, efficient, and thoughtful way. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It funds our foreign policy and national security while cutting wasteful spending. It supports allies like Israel and Taiwan, counters China, fights drug trafficking, and focuses on basic services like passport offices and embassy security.”

“Mr. Chair, I thank my distinguished friend and vice chair of the full committee, Chairman Diaz-Balart, for yielding the time and for his work on this bill. The fiscal year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs bill makes a clear statement about American leadership: We will engage where it matters. We will invest where it counts. We will demand accountability for every dollar spent. The legislation before us today, Mr. Chairman, implements a clear- eyed and unapologetic approach to our security and democracy efforts. It leaves no doubt about our Nation’s posture. America will not be passive or simply write blank checks. Every investment we make must advance U.S. interests, strengthen our strategic position, and deliver measurable results for the American people. We are putting our values into action by upholding freedom, promoting economic opportunity, supporting religious liberty, and safeguarding protections that uphold life. This approach marks a necessary course correction. Unlike previous administrations that prioritized symbolism over outcomes, President Trump and Chairman Diaz-Balart have returned U.S. engagement to a foundation of strength, accountability, and strategic purpose. On every level, this bill reiterates that it won’t be optics but real results that drive our work. The measure stands firmly with our friends while drawing a clear line against our adversaries. It reinforces support for key allies, like Israel and Taiwan, and directly counters threats from Communist China and other regimes that challenge our interests and principles. It also demands greater accountability and raises expectations for our partners, recognizing that enduring alliances are strongest when responsibilities are shared. Further, it implements strategic investments that enhance U.S. leverage abroad and combat fentanyl trafficking and criminal organizations. It refocuses our diplomacy on core missions like embassy security, passport services, and promoting American businesses overseas. The bottom line is simple: This legislation recognizes that freedom and democracy are not mere ideals. They are principles that we will actively champion and advance. Chairman Diaz-Balart’s bill directs resources to the highest impact priorities that strengthen America’s position while cutting billions in unnecessary spending. This bill delivers security, strategic focus, and results. Mr. Chair, I thank my friend from Florida and Ranking Member Frankel for their leadership, and I thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”

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“I want the House to pass this bill. It cuts spending by $2.6 billion compared to last year and keeps more taxpayer money here in America. It stops money from going to liberal projects abroad and focuses on our own national security and allies like Israel and Taiwan.”

“Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Frankel for their hard work on putting this bill together. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this fiscal year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs funding bill. We are talking about security through responsibility today. This is a bill that does something that Washington doesn’t always do: It spends less, and it prioritizes more. It cuts spending by $2.6 billion, compared to last year, while putting American interests and national security first. It also demands fiscal responsibility. It strengthens oversight of taxpayer dollars, especially, with new accountability for grant programs, to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not spent on woke projects, like a transgender opera in Colombia. Mr. Chairman, this legislation also makes a simple promise to the American people: If American taxpayers are footing the bill, then more of that money should stay right here in America. It is pretty simple. It should stay in America to support our defense, to support our industrial base, and to strengthen Made in America procurement. When we do spend abroad, it should serve American interests, supporting our allies like Israel and Taiwan. This bill, Mr. Chairman, is about security. It is about accountability, and it is about putting America first. That is why I strongly urge its support.”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It holds back half of our aid to Nigeria unless the Nigerian government protects Christians from being killed.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this legislation, and I thank Chairman Cole and Chairman Diaz-Balart for their leadership on this bill. This bill reinforces the important work we have championed to combat the persecution of Christians in Nigeria where nearly 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009. Last year, President Trump asked Chairman Cole and myself to investigate the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, with myself and Chairman Diaz-Balart going to Nigeria. Since then, we have worked with the Trump administration to develop a strategy that provides assistance to the Nigerian Government in their defense of Christians while holding President Tinubu’s government accountable if they fail. The U.S.-Nigeria security agreement is already bearing fruit, including eliminating ISIS’ number two globally. This bill bolsters our strategy by conditioning 50 percent of all U.S. assistance to Nigeria on measurable actions to protect Christians. It also puts a spotlight on the Middle Belt where we have not seen nearly enough progress in protecting Christians against Fulani Islamic terrorists. With this vote, we will express the support of this Chamber for the report we presented to the White House on how to end the Christian genocide in Nigeria. Mr. Chair, the United States must never turn a blind eye to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes’’ on this bill.”

“I support this spending bill. It protects the unborn, checks foreign aid, and punishes foreign countries that hurt religious freedom. It also helps fight human trafficking and stops Chinese scam groups that steal billions of dollars from Americans.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of fiscal year 2027 National Security and Department of State Appropriations Act. This legislation candidly and simply delivers on conservative promises, helps put America first while conducting vigorous oversight of our foreign assistance programs. It upholds longstanding pro-life protections, and holds foreign governments that violate religious freedoms are held accountable. Importantly, this legislation delivers on my number one priority, pushing back on the Chinese-linked foreign scam operations that have bilked Americans out of countless of billions of dollars. It provides the critical tools to fight human trafficking these syndicates engage in and, frankly, rely upon while building up the law enforcement capacity of partner nations to stop these scammers. Mr. Chair, I support these commonsense provisions in the underlying bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.”

“I support this bill. It cuts spending, blocks money for climate reparations, and cuts off funding to United Nations agencies run by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8595, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. I commend Chairman Diaz-Balart for his bold leadership to reform U.S. foreign aid over the last several funding cycles. Today, we have a bill before us with additional important reforms. This bill puts forward a second consecutive year of spending cuts, counters the global climate lunacy agenda, and holds rogue U.N. agencies accountable. Specifically, this bill delivers real solutions on issues I have prioritized over the last several years. Since 2023, the U.N. has been setting the stage for nations to sue one another for violations of climate change treaties, with the spoils of these lawsuits being for so-called climate reparations. Foreign countries and global environmentalists are seeking to target our country and energy producers at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. This bill aligns with legislation I have introduced to block climate reparations. Secondly, Washington, D.C., has turned a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party’s infiltration of the United Nations, with our taxpayer dollars being used to fund the CCP’s malign influence agenda. The CCP has been successful in winning elections to lead various strategic U.N. agencies and then modifying their policies to the benefit of Beijing rather than the West. The legislation before us today cuts off U.S. resources to those U.N. agencies that embrace CCP leadership. America should be steering the decisions of these organizations, not the CCP. H.R. 8595 further advances a bold new agenda of American foreign relations, and I commend Chairmen Diaz-Balart and Cole for their leadership. Mr. Chair, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It protects our national security, helps our allies, and stands up to our enemies while saving taxpayer money.”

“Mr. Chairman, this is a really good bill. I have already talked about it, and you have heard other people talk about it. It strengthens the national security interests of the United States. It supports our allies. It confronts our adversaries, and, yes, it does all of that while saving taxpayers’ money. Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes’’ vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.”

“I want the House to approve this group of amendments. Both parties agree on them. They support Taiwan, counter Chinese influence, use our aid to Mexico better, and spend more money to fight human trafficking.”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bipartisan amendments en bloc, which includes amendments from both sides of the aisle. The amendments include nine noncontroversial amendments that advance the priorities of both sides, including support for Taiwan, countering the PRC’s influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, better leveraging U.S. assistance to Mexico, and increasing funding designated to combat human trafficking. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support these amendments, and I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I want to end funding for the Fulbright Program. It costs taxpayers nearly $300 million a year, promotes left-wing causes, and lets people from countries tied to our enemies enter the United States to spy on us.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of fiscal responsibility and protecting Americans from foreign adversaries. President Trump’s domestic policy is defined by his commitment to rid the Federal Government of waste, fraud, and abuse. It is time that Congress followed through on the President’s promise. Last year, the Fulbright Program cost the American taxpayers nearly $300 million, set to be repeated in next year’s State Department budget. My amendment returns these funds to the pockets of hardworking American taxpayers. The President’s FY27 budget proposed an 80-percent cut to the Fulbright Program and for good reason. For years, the Fulbright Program acted as a taxpayer-funded handout for trans fanatic, Green New Deal activists and agents of foreign powers seeking to undermine the United States of America. While the President confronted Fulbright’s board of directors about this injustice of their leftist bias, they resigned rather than face the truth. Every year, nearly 5,000 foreign applicants receive a Fulbright Scholarship. These recipients include citizens of countries with very close ties to adversaries, such as Russia, China, and North Korea, a known pathway for agents of foreign powers to enter the United States and spy on us. This is an unacceptable risk to the American people and our national security. The Fulbright Program is a bad deal for the American people, and my amendment restores fiscal responsibility and keeps our great Nation safe. For the good of our country and responsibility to every American taxpayer, we must act to end this harmful and wasteful program. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”

“Vote no on this amendment. We already cut spending in this bill. We should not cut our exchange programs any more. They make America safer by building ties with future world leaders and fighting China's influence.”

“Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I rise in respectful opposition to the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Colorado. I share, by the way, and understand her desire to reduce spending. As a matter of fact, since 2023, as I mentioned before, I have cut spending under the purview of this subcommittee by $12 billion. The bill that we are considering right now puts forward an additional $2.7 billion in reductions. In this bill, the education and cultural exchange programs account is also reduced. It is actually $94 million below the fiscal year 2024 enacted level. We did cut back funding, but we left in place sufficient funds to support exchange programs that we can show make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The Fulbright Program is the crown jewel of our exchange programs. It allows the U.S. to develop key relationships with senior leaders of national security, technology, business, and entrepreneurship. Also, it strengthens U.S. relationships in fields that advance U.S. interests. In a recent official trip to South America, I heard directly from President Trump’s ambassadors about how the Fulbright Program is a valuable tool to combat Confucius centers from Communist China and other CCP malign influence efforts in this hemisphere. This is a program that gives us the opportunity to, again, create those long alliances that have been so helpful. It cultivates future leaders who champion our values, not Chinese values, and also, again, combats Chinese surveillance, data breaches, et cetera. This bill makes large reductions in wasteful programs, but Fulbright is not one of those programs. It is an important facilitator to our national security goals. Mr. Chair, I very respectfully urge a ``no’’ vote on this amendment.”

“I want the House to pass my amendment. The law already says foreign countries must pay us back when our military trains them, but the government has not been collecting that money. My amendment stops funds for this training until those countries actually pay what they owe.”

“Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, which prohibits funds in this act from furnishing international military education and training without the reimbursement required under 22 U.S.C. 2347(b). My provision does not create new policy. It simply enforces a reimbursement requirement that has been on the books for nearly 50 years and strengthens accountability for how we spend taxpayer dollars. Under current law, nations using Foreign Military Financing to purchase military training must pay a rate comparable to what grant recipients receive. This training was never intended to be free. However, because the 1976 law lacked a real reinforcement mechanism, American taxpayers have quietly absorbed these costs instead. My amendment fixes that longstanding problem. It applies to Foreign Military Financing-purchased training and similar title 22 programs, and it requires that reimbursement actually be collected before this act’s funds can be used to provide that training. Importantly, it does not affect international military education and training grants, nor does it affect training for U.S. personnel. I offered this amendment because Congress’ original 1976 language left the door open for lax enforcement. The law says that foreign nations should pay for instruction from the strongest fighting force in the world, but it never included a means to ensure that reimbursement actually occurs. This can result in training that ends up free for foreign partners at the expense of American taxpayers. The original policy is not flawed. There is currently a gap in collection, and this amendment closes it. Our national debt is approaching $40 trillion, and much of that strain comes from years of weak enforcement and lost accountability across government. It is our responsibility to review every line item, even the small ones, because these costs add up. Given that we already provide substantial protection, personnel, and intelligence support to our partners, we should not absorb the cost of training that Congress has long required foreign nations to reimburse. Our partners are also welcome to use Foreign Military Financing or their own national funds to cover this training rather than defaulting to taxpayer-funded grants. Some of my colleagues may argue this will strain relationship with our partners. That is not the case. This amendment only applies where reimbursement is already required by law. It does not touch International Military Education and Training grants or our core training relationships. Others may suggest this is a minor technical fix unworthy of floor time. I disagree. A gap in reimbursement law is precisely the kind of overlooked taxpayer exposure Congress should address regardless of size. To my colleagues, the status quo is clearly broken. We face unsustainable debt, and too many programs lack real accountability. It is our duty to reinforce existing laws and ensure we are collecting what taxpayers are owed. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense amendment and relieve hardworking Americans of expenses that they were never meant to bear. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I want you to support my amendment. The law already says our foreign partners must pay us back for military training, but we are not enforcing it. Our national debt is nearly $40 trillion, and we need to collect the money we are owed.”

“Mr. Chair, like I said, this is already law. We are clearly just not enforcing it. I will reiterate that we are close to $40 trillion in debt. We are spending $2 trillion annually that we don’t have. As a servicemember myself, I am not trying to say that we don’t receive anything from cooperation and training with our foreign partners. The point is this is already law. This is already the law. We are just not enforcing it, and we are not collecting these reimbursements which we are entitled to. For far too long, the United States has borne the brunt of global defense, and I know it doesn’t mean a lot to many people in this Chamber that we are $40 trillion in debt, but we continue to spend money that we don’t have. Again, this is already the law. There is just no enforcement. That is what my amendment would take care of. Again, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I have an amendment to cut all 140 million dollars for the Global Environment Facility. Our national debt is too high. This fund wastes taxpayer money on bad climate projects in other countries, including Afghanistan under the Taliban. We should not pay for it.”

“Mr. Chairman, I will start by acknowledging the extraordinary work of my friend, colleague, and mentor from Florida on this overall package, which I do intend to support, but no matter how great a job we do on anything, there is always room to improve. At a time and a place in which we have a $40 trillion debt, I have an obligation to be looking to save money wherever we can. My amendment would strike all funding for the Global Environment Facility, which would save taxpayers $140 million. The GEF, as I see it, is a wasteful fund that spends money to bankroll woke climate initiatives, including grants designed to bring countries such as Namibia and Serbia into compliance with the Paris climate agreement, which President Trump withdrew the United States from because it did not reflect American interests and priorities. My colleagues across the aisle and other supporters of the GEF and green new scam argue that it is America’s responsibility to give millions of taxpayer dollars to unelected bureaucrats because the GEF fights so-called climate change. Let’s examine some examples of the important work that GEF is funding with money that we are borrowing from our children and grandchildren: The Women Ocean Guardians project, which seeks ``to strengthen the sustainable use, management, and conservation of large marine ecosystems by enhancing gender-responsive ocean governance, empowering women frontliners in coastal and marine ecosystems and implementing community-led solutions’’ because we have got to make sure when we fight climate change it is gender responsive. Second project, in the Central African Republic, ``to catalyze land restoration and biodiversity conservation through inclusive and gender- responsive landscape governance.’’ Again, just think of the absurdity of this, gender-responsive landscape governance. Then there was a grant given in 2024 in Afghanistan for ``strengthened resilience of rural communities’ livelihoods to climate risks and variability in selected provinces in Afghanistan.’’ Let me remind all my colleagues that Afghanistan has been under the rule of the Taliban. Do we really think the Taliban is going to use this money to address so-called climate change? The United States, as I said before, is almost $40 trillion in debt, and that debt continues to grow every single day, every single minute, every single hour that we are here. I think it is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars to subsidize an organization that spends money helping other countries comply with an agreement the United States is not even a party to or giving money to the Taliban for any reason, let alone for forestry. President Trump’s budget request eliminated funding for the Global Environment Facility. Congress should follow that example and eliminate this unnecessary $140 million expenditure. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I want the House to pass my amendment. Our country is $40 trillion in debt, and we should not borrow money from our children to pay for these projects.”

“Mr. Chairman, I will close by saying this: Irrespective of the ridiculous examples that I gave before, again, the idea that there is gender responsive ways to deal with environmental problems as though somehow men and women would deal with environmental solutions differently, setting all of that ridiculousness aside, I think we have a simple question before us. When you are $40 trillion in debt, Mr. Chair, and the things you are paying for are being borrowed from your children and grandchildren, the question is no longer whether something is a good idea. The question is whether it is worth driving us further into debt to do. Even if I were to grant that these projects were noble--and I do not--it is not worth borrowing from my two sons and every American’s children and grandchildren to do that. If we do not begin to deal with these problems soon, then we won’t have a budget to spend. This is one small step in order to try to get our fiscal house in order. I hope that all of my colleagues will support my amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR (Ms. King-Hinds). The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes appeared to have it.”

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“I want to remove $3.3 billion of aid to Israel from this bill. Our country has too much debt. We should spend that money at home on our own roads, bridges, and homeless veterans instead.”

“Madam Chair, my amendment is simple. It strikes $3.3 billion of foreign aid to the country of Israel from the State Department funding bill. We have $39.4 trillion of debt. We have needs at home, which include our infrastructure, our roads and bridges. We have a shortfall in this fund. We have our locks and dams, and we are perpetually trying to figure out new funding mechanisms to come up with. We have homeless veterans. We are sending more money to Israel in this bill than we spend on homeless veterans in this country. Just to put it in perspective, there are 3,000 counties in this country, and if we divide that into $3 billion, that is $1 million from every county. This is not an insignificant amount of money that is going overseas. I think we should stop it. We should put them on a diet. They are the biggest welfare recipient of the United States and have been for many years. Madam Chair, $310 billion has been received by Israel from the taxpayers of the United States. That is in inflation-adjusted dollars since we have been giving them money. That is why I think this amendment is important. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”

“Vote against this amendment. The bill gives $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. This money protects Israel and America from shared enemies, honors our current agreement, and supports American jobs because Israel uses it to buy weapons made in the United States.”

“Madam Chairwoman, as chairman of this subcommittee since 2023, I am proud to be a leader in this body in providing unwavering support to our friend and ally, Israel, especially-- especially--after the October 7 terrorist attack. The $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel included in this bill supports American--our--national security interests overseas. We see the same terrorists and terrorist entities that threaten Israel also threaten the United States and our people directly. When we give Israel the tools and capabilities to eliminate these terrorist threats and to protect their homeland, while including the many Americans who visit and live there, we are making America and the American people safer. The United States and Israel have worked together on successful military operations like those in the past year to decimate Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities. Israel is also using the overwhelming majority of this funding to actually purchase American- made weaponry, so it actually helps our defense industrial base and our economy. We have worked together extensively on developing military capabilities and other capabilities. Because of these advancements for our mutual interest and security, there is currently a discussion of moving to a new security partnership with Israel after fiscal year 2028. Just to be clear, the assistance in this bill for fiscal year 2027 is under the terms of the existing MOU, memorandum of understanding, which runs for 2 more fiscal years. This does not, in any way, prejudge the outcome of ongoing negotiations. This is about fulfilling our commitment to one of our closest and most important allies that we have in the entire world at a time when terrorists are butchering people around the world. We made that commitment because it makes the American people--our country--stronger. Madam Chair, I urge defeat of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I oppose spending money on weapons to help defense companies. It is wrong to build our economy on making weapons that are used on innocent people overseas.”

“Madam Chair, I heard a common refrain in my colleague’s arguments there that, oh, don’t worry, all this money is going to the military industrial complex. I have a problem with that. It is not a sustainable economy--buying weapons and letting people use them overseas on other people, oftentimes innocent civilians. I am not compelled by the argument that our job is to be here and enrich the military-industrial complex, now called the defense industrial base. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).”

“I oppose this amendment. This bill supports America's allies and hurts our enemies. Israel is our strongest ally, and we must keep our promises to them.”

“Madam Chair, as I have said before with this bill, and I have said it many times: If you are an ally and a friend of the United States, this bill supports you. If you are an adversary, you are not going to like this bill. We have no stronger ally than the State of Israel. This is our commitment under the MOU, which is why I respectfully, but very strongly--very strongly--oppose this amendment. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.”

“I want the House to pass my amendment to stop sending money to Israel. Israel has a strong economy and does not need our help. Tens of thousands of people have been hurt or killed in Gaza, and American taxpayers should not pay for Israel's military actions. I oppose all foreign aid, including aid to Egypt and Jordan.”

“Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Chair, Israel has the strongest economy in the Middle East. Their debt per GDP is in much better shape than ours. They don’t need our money. In fact, they have claimed recently they want to get off of the welfare. I am concerned that the other funding mechanisms they are talking about, or comingling, our technology and supply chains, we will have even less transparency than what is going on here today, so I am opposed to that as well. I am opposed to all foreign aid. I didn’t pick on Israel here. I offered an amendment to defund Egypt and also to defunding aid to Jordan, which we will talk about in a little bit. I am particularly concerned this year about the foreign aid to Israel. There have been 70,000 casualties in Gaza, and I don’t think we should be a part of that. American taxpayers should not be conscripted into funding the military adventures of Israel. Madam Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”