Rubio testifies at House hearing — NBC News

[0:00] budget requests for the Department of State and related programs. Mr. Secretary, because of your [0:06] extremely busy schedule, that's an understatement, which I would argue has led to an extraordinary [0:11] record of success for the American, for American foreign policy, we were unable to get your [0:17] testimony on the budget request prior to the markup of our fiscal year 2027 bill. We hope the [0:24] bill will soon be concerted by the full house and then, as you know, negotiated with the Senate [0:28] before becoming law. So there is still plenty to discuss today in our FY27 proposals, as well as [0:35] how the department is implementing FY26 funding provided earlier this year. Now, despite being [0:43] late in the budget season, I believe this hearing is well-timed. As you may have heard, I just returned [0:51] from leading a CODEL to South America. I was reminded once again how much leadership matters. President [1:00] Trump and your leadership, implemented by our embassies abroad, has really fundamentally changed [1:07] the course of our foreign policy and history. And it couldn't have come at a more important time, [1:15] following four years of the previous administration's efforts to consistently reward our enemies [1:20] and frustrate our allies. Likewise, we see the positive impacts of the leadership of key partners [1:28] in our hemisphere, such as President Pena in Paraguay and President Millet in Argentina, [1:33] who are standing firmly with the United States and our shared values. Despite tremendous pressure, [1:41] and in doing so, advancing the national security and economic prosperity of our country as well as [1:48] theirs. But while the anti-American, anti-freedom forces in our hemisphere are really being defeated at [1:56] the ballot box. They're not giving up. On the contrary, they are aggressively trying to sow chaos, [2:03] including through violence. All you have to do is look at what they are doing right now in Bolivia. [2:11] The region also is confronting external malign influences, most notably the PRC, who are not [2:18] happy about what you and President Trump are accomplishing in partnership with pro-American allies. [2:26] They're ratcheting up the pressure and will continue to fight back in what is now really contested space [2:33] that America has ignored way, way too long. The Trump administration is transforming the world in bold [2:41] and durable ways. And as chairman of this subcommittee, I intend, I intend to provide the resources [2:49] you need to ensure we can double down on our wins and continue to support freedom and security [2:57] throughout the hemisphere and beyond. However, we don't need to increase top-line funding to do this. [3:04] In fact, our FYI bill, FY27 bill, reduces spending by $2.7 billion from the enacted level. [3:12] That is in addition to the $12 billion in responsible cuts to funding that this committee has delivered [3:19] since 2023 because the greatest long-term threat to our country's stability and security is our debt. [3:28] So with less funding, this bill does more. I want to repeat that. This bill does more for our national [3:36] security. We provide an increase for embassy security to keep U.S. personnel safe. We increase [3:42] foreign military financing and international narcotics control and law enforcement to ensure our partners [3:48] and allies around the world have the best equipment and training to advance our shared security. [3:56] I would note that your budget requests in two of these areas, embassy security and counter-narcotics [4:05] and law enforcement, is greatly improved from FY26 requests by seeking levels that more accurately reflect [4:13] the needs that we see today, especially to carry out the President's national security strategy. [4:22] In the coming years, I look forward to examining more comprehensive budget requests that will support [4:28] the ambitious and critical foreign policy goals of this historic President. Now, however, I think we [4:37] both agree that it's not only just how much you spend, it's how the funding is actually spent. As you know [4:47] well, Mr. Secretary, an America First policy requires careful strategic consideration of how to spend [4:54] American tax dollars abroad. To that end, our bill maintains the requirement for you, Mr. Secretary, [5:02] to consider, prior to providing funds, the voting practice of other countries at the United Nations. [5:10] It also requires an assessment of cooperation on other issues of importance to the United States, [5:16] such as migration issues, opposing foreign adversaries, and burden sharing, among others. [5:22] These are all areas of focus where I believe the Department has achieved notable success, [5:29] and I look forward to discussing them further with you, Mr. Secretary. [5:33] To support a policy of peace through strength, the Committee of Recommendation for Fiscal Year 2027 [5:39] once again supports allies and partners of the United States while countering adversaries, [5:45] and those countries and non-state actors that support our adversaries. Our bill includes steadfast [5:53] support for our great ally Israel by providing 3.3 billion dollars in foreign military financing, [6:00] consistent with the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding, and it maintains critical support [6:06] for Egypt and Jordan. With respect to confronting adversaries, the United States has been in nearly [6:14] continuous conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran since its founding in 1979. For almost five [6:22] decades, Iranians have endured repression, violence, and torture at the hands of the evil Iranian regime, [6:31] a regime that exports terrorism and brutally suppresses dissent at home and attacks the United States [6:38] and our allies. Mr. Secretary, last week, Mr. Secretary on Mike Codell, we visited the site of the AMIA bombing [6:47] in Buenos Aires, where in 1994 Iran's just terrorist proxy Hezbollah attacked a Jewish center in Argentina, [6:56] killing 85, 85 people and injuring over 300. And in 1992, Hezbollah bombed the Israeli embassy in Argentina, [7:06] killing 29 people and injuring more than 200. These are just two examples of how Iran and Hezbollah [7:14] have been exporting deadly terrorism around the world for decades. We have a responsibility to do [7:22] everything we can to stop these terrorist regimes before they claim more victims. Now, in my view, [7:31] the coordinated military action by the United States and Israel against Iran's military capabilities, [7:37] as well as its nuclear program, will help ensure the security of the United States and our allies [7:44] and partners for years to come. So I'm sure members will have questions for you about these operations, [7:51] including the status of efforts to help secure freedom of navigation in the Straits of Hormuz and [7:57] the status of our embassy operations in the region. The committee also continues its long-standing focus [8:04] on countering the challenge to the United States national security posed by the People's Republic [8:09] of China and the Chinese Communist Party. This includes funding above the request for our Indo-Pacific [8:16] strategy, including through fully funding the Countering PRC Influence Fund. This bill strongly supports [8:24] allies and partners in the region, including Taiwan and the Philippines and Pacific Island countries. [8:32] As I mentioned at the beginning, I am particularly proud of the fact that the United States [8:37] has reprioritized the Western Hemisphere and put the Americas first, which has been a major foreign [8:46] policy priority throughout our history. As with the President's bold action in Venezuela to remove [8:53] the indicted criminal Nicolas Maduro, the United States is now decisively tackling security challenges closer to [9:00] home, like putting anti-American regimes like Communist Cuba on notice. Threats to our national security [9:10] should and will not be tolerated. The bill continues strong support for democracy programs for the people [9:16] of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and calls on European partners seeking support for Ukraine to stand for [9:25] freedom and democracy in the Western Hemisphere as well, especially in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. [9:33] One of the State Department's facilities in Argentina that we visited last week displays a plaque [9:39] that reads the following. It says the following, quote, democracy is still the hope of the world. [9:45] This is a sentiment that I think we should always remember. More broadly, the Committee [9:51] and family supports your efforts, your efforts to strengthen United States economic ties with countries [9:57] in our hemisphere. This includes combating the influence of the PRC, securing access to critical [10:05] minerals, supporting the nearshoring of vulnerable supply chains, and identifying commercial [10:11] opportunities such as in countries transitioning away from authoritarian or communist political systems. [10:19] All of these areas of emphasis align with administration priorities, and I look forward to working with [10:26] you, Mr. Secretary, on its implementation, on the implementation. Mr. Secretary, we have endeavored [10:34] in the Committee to provide you with the resources, the resources and the flexibility that you need to [10:40] implement to implement the President's of America First foreign policy. We appreciate your team working [10:47] with us to implement community directives from fiscal year 26, and I want you to know that we work very [10:54] closely with you on your priorities as we advance this measure, this bill through the legislative process. [11:02] Now, before I conclude, let me thank you for your service and your family, Mr. Secretary, and also reiterate [11:10] how much we appreciate the service of the men and women of the Department of State. Let me now turn [11:17] uh, to the ranking member, by the way, another great Floridian, uh, for her opening remarks, um, [11:24] thank you, member Frankel. Thank you, and welcome. Mr. Secretary, you know, it really is something that, [11:29] that the three of us all served in the Florida legislature together a long time ago, and, uh, I, I also want [11:38] to say, I want to just, uh, thank my Chair, who we, we work very hard to, on bipartisanship, because I, I, one thing I do really [11:48] believe is, when we're talking about facing the world, and the challenges, that we have to be, try to be on the same page. [11:57] Now, we do have some differences of opinion, which I will talk about today, and, uh, I also want to say, uh, [12:05] Secretary, I saw you this morning, your testimony, this is a, this is a very rigorous day for you, and we see [12:11] you all over the world, and, um, I thank you for your service. I may not agree with everything you say or do, [12:17] but I have a lot of respect for the time and commitment that you put into your job. Um, on the [12:25] budget, I'm not going to talk that much about the budget. I really, uh, the, the comments I have are [12:30] really going to be on, uh, what's going on in the State Department from our point of view, Democrats' [12:36] point of view. We, we do have a couple of missing members I want people to know, because it's primary [12:41] day in some of the states in this country, and so they're out actually, uh, in their reelection. [12:48] Uh, it's not that they didn't want to see you. Um, I just want to say on this budget, last year we [12:56] actually, we worked out, I think, uh, I didn't like the top lines. We, I think we could have had more [13:02] money, but the fact is, we did come up with a bipartisan agreement. This year, uh, our budget passed [13:09] here only on Republican, uh, support. For us, things were missing, like our paying our dues to the UN, [13:17] family planning for the women of the world, uh, human rights. We think we have to do a better job [13:24] on that, and I hope as we, as our budget goes through, we can, uh, get together on those points. [13:31] But at the core of this hearing, it's about whether America leads or retreats, whether we prevent [13:39] crises or wait for them to become catastrophes, and whether we preserve the diplomatic development [13:46] and humanitarian tools that has makes, and will make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. [13:53] Uh, when you, Mrs. Secretary, when you started your tenure at the State Department, I was honored to [13:58] attend. You're welcome. I will tell you that I thought you were, you were there with me, right? [14:03] Or I was there with you. We were together. We were together with a lot of other people. [14:07] Uh, and I want to say this, your, your remarks were inspiring, uh, and I left very, very hopeful, [14:14] uh, about your commitment to democracy and American leadership. And then what happened? [14:20] Doge came in with Elon Musk. Other, I won't, I'm not going to go through the litany of names came in, [14:27] with what I think was an insidious sledgehammer. Because we have, we have witnessed the devastating [14:33] consequences of the devastation, devastation and dismantling of USAID, the terminating of critical [14:41] health and development programs, and forcing thousands of experienced public servants out of [14:47] government. And the consequences are not hypothetical. People are living in some of the world's most [14:54] vulnerable countries, places facing poverty, conflict, hunger, and weak health systems that have long [15:03] relied on American partnership and leadership. Places like Sudan, Haiti, Ethiopia are losing access [15:10] to health care. Families are going hungry. Humanitarian crisis are deepening and Americans [15:16] influence is shrinking as our adversaries are expanding theirs, AKA, of course, China. In just one year, [15:26] Mr. Secretary, these cuts have contributed to more than 750,000 deaths worldwide, roughly 88 lives [15:37] every hour. Malaria is surging. HIV treatment programs have been disrupted. Health centers have [15:44] been closed. We hear reports from countries like Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, [15:50] and Jordan, where cuts to family planning have forced more than 1,400 clinics to shut their doors, [15:58] leaving an estimated 9 million women without care and contributing to increases in hemorrhage, [16:04] infection, unsafe abortion, and preventable death. These are the mothers of the children, the spouses [16:14] that we expect to be taking care of families. Experts warned us we're on track for millions more [16:23] preventable deaths by 2030. And meanwhile, a dangerous Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the [16:29] Congo was spreading rapidly, making harder to contain by the administration's decision to cut funding to [16:36] the World Health Organization, which has resulted in their staff cuts. And now, this is a good one, [16:46] or a bad one. At the direction of the vaccine conspiracy theorists, also known as Robert F. Kennedy, [16:55] Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, this administration is continuing to withhold funds [17:02] from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. And this is an organization which has helped save more than 20 [17:08] million lives since 2000, immunized more than 1 billion children, strengthened health systems in some [17:14] of the world's poorest country, and helped prevent the outbreaks of the deadly diseases such as measles, [17:20] polio, pneumonia, retrovirus, and yellow fever, stopping them from becoming global threats. And now, [17:28] and now, the administration has dramatically expanded the global gag rule, which was in many ways a killer [17:39] to women, but now to conditioning vast swaths of non-military assistance on ideological requirements [17:49] unrelated to the mission of foreign aid. And this will disproportionately affect the LGBT community. [17:56] And we should not let ideology get in the way of protecting human rights. At the same time, an understaffed [18:06] and weakened State Department is expected to absorb the full scope of America's diplomatic development [18:12] and humanitarian responsibilities while operating under restrictive, politically driven directives that [18:19] often bypass congressional intent. And boy, has that been happening. We were promised that the State Department's [18:26] reorganization would empower regional bureaus and strengthen American leadership. We do not see [18:32] that happening. We were told that congressional directed programs would continue. Instead, priorities [18:38] that Congress has funded and mandated including food security, clean water, education, and women's empowerment [18:47] have been sidelined with little transparency and no clear implementation. And the reality is simple. [18:55] Too few people are being asked to do too much without the expertise needed to succeed. More than 100 [19:04] ambassador positions remain vacant, including many in Africa, a continent that will be home to one quarter [19:12] of the world's population by 2050. And meanwhile, many of our most experienced developmental professionals, [19:19] grant offers, technical experts, they've been pushed out, leaving an already overwhelmed State Department [19:25] staff to fill the gap. Because it seems to us that the American appears more focused on short-term [19:33] transaction than long-term stability. And we are now seeing, and this is shocking, we are seeing life [19:43] saving assistance treated as leverage only offering countries to agree to unrelated demands involving [19:54] trade, deportations, and critical minerals to get the resources they need for their population to thrive. [20:03] That's not partnership. I call it coercion. And, you know, around the world, the humanitarian crisis [20:09] continues. The war with Iran has now entered its 13th week. The Strait Hormuz, I'm not telling you [20:16] anything you don't know, remains largely closed, disrupting energy markets and the movement of [20:22] fertilizer, not just oil, fertilizer, food and humanitarian supplies. And these consequences are not [20:28] only felt abroad, but also, of course, here at home, especially to our farmers. So, in communities where [20:35] America assistance was once promoted, stability, where we promoted stability and opportunity, new new [20:44] research is already showing an increased instability and a conflict following the abrupt dismantling of [20:53] USAD programs with no substitute. At the United Nations, the United States is increasingly [21:02] absent from critical discussions on human rights, democracy, and women's empowerment. And even, even [21:09] as we expect the international community to support our priorities, while we fail to meet our own [21:15] commitments, that getting back to our, our 2027 budget, we need to pay our dues. The result is clear. [21:24] Our alliances have weakened, our credibility has suffered in American state and the world has diminished. [21:30] We need a state department and an international affairs budget that reasserts American leadership, [21:36] honors our commitments, supports those in needs, and advance a foreign policy that makes our nation [21:42] safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Because we, we know this when, you know, people say, well, what's, [21:47] what is in it to us? Well, you know what, when people abroad, when they, when they are educated, [21:55] when the children are educated, when they're not hungry, when they're healthy, there's less [21:59] less opportunity for disruption and chaos and wanting to join terrorist organizations. I, I can tell [22:07] you this, and I've said this before, I'm not really bragging, okay, but this is how I, my, my son [22:13] was a, was a United States Marine. He's, he's back home, thank goodness, but he served in Iraq and [22:19] Afghanistan. He would be the first one to tell you, and I'll be the first one to tell you, [22:25] that most Americans would rather prevent war than send our sons and daughters to fight them. And [22:31] that's why soft power matters. That's why what we're doing in this budget matters. That's why what, [22:38] Mr. Rubio, what you're doing at the State Department should matter. A diplomacy prevents conflicts [22:45] before they erupt. Diplomacy, not bombs and bullets. Diplomacy. A global health program stop outbreaks [22:55] before they reach our shores. Development reduces the desperation that fuels extremism. And strong [23:04] alliance ensure that we do not face threats alone. That's how America leads. That's how America stays [23:11] safe. And unfortunately, it seems to me, it's my opinion, and some others, the administration has [23:20] abandoned that proven strategy. And, uh, Mrs. Secretary, really, uh, and I say this in good [23:26] spirit because I, in the end, I hope we can come together on our budget. Uh, and I hope you'll share, [23:33] share today with this committee how the United States intends to meet today's global challenges [23:39] without sacrificing the diplomatic development and humanitarian tools that have long advanced our [23:45] interests. And we'll look forward to your testimony and to, uh, the questions of, of my colleagues. [23:51] And with that, Mr. Chair, I yield back. I thank the ranking member. And by the way, [23:55] having a member of the U.S. military is in your family is a very good reason to brag. Absolutely. [24:02] So, uh, we'll now yield to the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Ms. Delora, [24:05] for her opening statements. You recognize me. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, [24:11] Ranking Member Frankel, um, for the recognition. And I want to just say welcome, Mr. Secretary, [24:18] uh, and look forward to your testimony and, and questions. Uh, there is an old saying, [24:25] often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, that by failing to prepare, one is preparing for failure. [24:33] That is a fitting description for this administration's foreign policy. [24:38] To start, the Trump administration has hollowed out much of the American diplomatic corps. [24:44] There are 195 ambassadorships in the United States Foreign Service. As of May 19th, 109 of those [24:53] positions were vacant. We do not have ambassadors to either Ukraine or Russia. And the president has [25:00] been unable to mediate an end to the war there, despite his campaign promise to do so within the first [25:08] 24 hours of his term. Conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, with ceasefires all but [25:16] abandoned. Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced he intends to deploy Israeli forces to occupy 70 percent [25:24] of the Gaza Strip, while continuing strikes in Lebanon. Settler violence in the West Bank is becoming [25:31] more aggressive by the day. And the president appears to have completely given up on peace talks [25:37] to end the war he started with Iran, resuming military strikes over the weekend. The rationale [25:46] for the war shifts whenever the president speaks. At first, it was to topple the regime and free the [25:55] Iranian people. Then it was to cripple their military capacity. Then it was to preempt a response to an [26:05] attack that Israel was poised to carry out. Then it was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was open [26:16] before President Trump started the war. The most recent justification is to prevent Iran from [26:24] developing a nuclear weapon, a goal they are now pursuing diplomatically after failing militarily. [26:33] The Iranian regime is still in place. The Iranian people are not free. The Iranian military [26:40] remains strong enough to control the Strait of Hormuz. I often wonder whether or not anyone suggested [26:47] that that was something that might Iran might do in this context. The Defense Department estimates [26:54] that we have spent some 30 billion dollars on this war, although the true cost is likely much, [27:01] much higher. And what do we have to show for it? We find ourselves in the absurd position [27:09] of having begun a war to pursue a goal that the Obama administration had already achieved more [27:16] than 10 years ago, but that the Trump administration reversed. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, [27:22] or the JCPOA, was painstakingly negotiated over the course of 20 months by diplomatic experts, [27:32] in close coordination with our partners and our allies. It prevented Iran from enhancing uranium [27:40] to the grade necessary to produce a nuclear weapon. It allowed for independent inspectors [27:47] from the International Atomic Energy Agency, an organization to which we currently do not have [27:52] an ambassador, by the way, to verify Iranian compliance, which they did. By contrast, the current [28:01] talks are happening in a much more tense environment, with pressure coming, pressure that's coming from [28:08] conflict, ongoing conflicts, and U.S. leveraging tactics. There is no clearly defined plan for how [28:15] a new agreement would be verified or enforced, and it is unclear what international partners would be [28:22] involved in supporting or helping to implement it. But President Trump tore up the JCPOA, less than three [28:31] years after it was signed, and Iran promptly began enriching uranium to weapons grade. After claiming [28:40] that Iran's nuclear program had been, quote, obliterated less than a year ago, the President is now [28:46] realizing that you cannot destroy Iran's nuclear program by bombing it. You can only delay it, and the [28:53] only way to secure a nuclear-free Iran is to negotiate a deal. But after failing to do this, the President [29:02] threw up his hands in the air saying, and this is a quote, I don't care if negotiations are abandoned. [29:13] So here we all are, forced to suffer the consequences of the President's indifference. Americans are paying [29:21] higher prices for gas, for groceries, and everyday necessities. But by his own admission, the President [29:28] does not care if the war drags on, and he does not think about its impact on the American people [29:36] at all. After taking office, the Trump administration withdrew from the Worth Health Organization [29:44] and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development. Thousands of programs were canceled, [29:51] and thousands of programmatic experts were laid off. Subsequently, health clinics were shuttered, [29:57] disease surveillance systems were greatly weakened, all while our global health efforts were withheld and [30:05] exploited as leverage to extract concessions from partner nations who depend on them, holding them [30:13] hostage for the health necessities that they needed unturned, until they might have agreed to a trade [30:20] agreement. Now we are faced with a significant infectious disease outbreak. In Central Asia and Central Africa, [30:29] a species of Ebola, for which there is no authorized vaccine or treatment, is rapidly expanding and is [30:36] expected to take months to address. It is primarily concentrated in the Democratic-Republican [30:43] Republic of Congo, where we do not have an ambassador. Ebola does not wait for bureaucratic [30:51] reorganizations. It spreads when surveillance systems are weakened, health workers are laid off, [30:58] clinics lack protective equipment, and communities lose the trusted partners who help detect and [31:05] contain outbreaks before they become public health emergencies. Thanks to years of investment through the [31:13] Department of Health and Human Services, we have a number of facilities in the United States that are [31:21] equipped to safely treat patients with Ebola, as well as other infectious diseases. In the 2014 Ebola crisis, we [31:31] established these facilities. We made a $160 million investment. But this administration is blocking those [31:40] specialized facilities from receiving Americans who are infected. We have asked numerous U.S. government [31:48] employees and employees to put themselves in harm's way to help us keep safe. And how does the Trump [31:56] administration repay them? By slamming the door in their face. The United States spent years building the [32:04] relationships, supply chains, laboratories, and community health networks that help stop deadly diseases at [32:12] their source. The Trump administration tore apart that capacity and now wants to pretend the consequences were [32:21] unforeseeable. They were not. They prepared for failure and now it is here. Congress and the American people [32:31] deserve answers. Secretary Rubio, thank you for taking the time to appear before this committee today. We look forward to [32:39] hearing your testimony and getting some answers to our questions. I thank you and I yield back. [32:46] I thank the ranking member. Secretary Rubio, your full written statement will be placed in the record. As you know, please feel free to [32:52] summarize your testimony. And again, thank you for being here. You're not recognized, sir. Thank you. Thanks for having me here today. [32:59] I think I'm going to skip the long opening. You have it in writing. I'll just do a couple brief points. I'd rather spend the time on your [33:04] questions that are probably a better use of our time. Just suffice it to say what I told you a year ago and [33:08] getting back to that point now. A couple things. In terms of U.S. foreign policy. Stop supporting Israel. [33:35] All right. The core of our... Can I continue now? All right. The core of our foreign policy must always be the [33:42] national interest of the United States. That is basically defining what that national interest is and then [33:47] operationalizing it in such a way that our foreign policy reflects it. This is across the board in the work of [33:52] diplomacy and the place in which we... And that requires prioritization, by the way. It requires [33:56] us to prioritize some parts of the world over other parts of the world, some issues over other issues. [34:01] That's just the reality of limited resources. And every country in the world does limited resources, [34:05] including the United States, despite our vast resources. The second is in terms of how we procure [34:10] aid and how we provide aid. We are still the world's largest aid provider. And I mean by far. Like, [34:15] there isn't a close second. But we don't want aid to solely be judged by how much you spend. [34:20] We want it to be judged by what its results are. And I think we can talk about it today, [34:23] but there are a couple points that I would raise that I think are very promising. The first is, [34:27] we've now entered in the global health strategy over 32 health compacts with countries around the [34:33] world. And these health compacts basically are... The countries that are signing them love it. [34:38] Not just because they're getting the resources, but because we're investing in their domestic resources. [34:43] In essence, we are trying to lay the groundwork in many of these countries, [34:46] where one day they will no longer need foreign aid because they will be able to sustain it. We're [34:50] helping build the internal infrastructure other than... As opposed to relying on extensive NGOs and [34:57] things of this nature in the long term. We want them to build their own domestic capacity. We'll help [35:01] them. And they're very happy because it also gives them sovereignty over the way some of their aid is [35:05] being dispersed in those countries. Likewise with humanitarian assistance. One of the great success stories [35:10] of the last year is we are able in the time of disaster to respond faster than we were responding [35:16] under previous administrations and organizations and with much more effectively. Jamaica is a great [35:20] example. They had a hurricane in the Caribbean. Jamaica was heavily impacted. We were able to respond [35:25] very quickly and very effectively. The same has been the case in a couple of typhoons and we're doing it [35:30] now with Ebola. We were able to program upwards of over 200 million dollars very quickly in responding to it [35:36] down to the point of being able to even through diplomatic means establish a facility in Kenya [35:41] for any Americans that are infected as an observation post for Americans. If someone's infected [35:47] with Ebola they will be transferred to a facility that could care for them. If they're not infected [35:51] after the observation period they'll be able to return to the United States or wherever it is they're [35:55] traveling to. But we've also provided assistance to the individual or partners that we have at the UN and [36:00] in other places and providing aid immediately. So I would say that today foreign aid has become more nimble, [36:06] more responsive, it's operating faster because of some of the flexibility that you've given us [36:10] to respond but also more creative and that's particularly true in the global health strategy. [36:15] We can talk more in depth later on about some of the the the arrangements that we've made uh with [36:20] international organizations as an example the global fund and our ability to meet our commitments [36:25] to them. We've worked very closely with them they're very very happy with the way we've outlined [36:30] our contributions to the global fund. I think there's a statement today from the UN [36:33] and OCHA on the work that we've done with them and the ability to provide them the funds and resources [36:38] necessary to carry out their mission. So I would just say that I feel like while it is still ongoing [36:43] and there's only always a process I feel like we have made dramatic improvements in the way American [36:48] foreign assistance is delivered across the world but we're able to do it now not just in a targeted way [36:52] but in a more effective way in which the it's not simply being judged by how much money you're spending [36:58] it's being judged by what results are you getting from it and uh there'll be more to talk about in [37:02] the field of PEPFAR and otherwise if you want to ask about those and now I'll find a way to work it in [37:06] but I don't want to take any more time I want to get to your questions so thanks for having me. [37:09] Well thank you Mr. Secretary um and for the members I'll call on members based on seniority uh of those [37:15] present when the hearing was called to order and as always going alternating between each side uh each member [37:21] will have five minutes for questions and responses I anticipate that we'll have enough time uh for two [37:27] rounds uh so let me begin Mr. Secretary. Secretary if a country uh is a U.S designated state sponsor of [37:35] terrorism and and ordered a terror force to shoot down unarmed U.S civilian aircraft in international [37:43] waters and kidnapped and held hostage a U.S humanitarian aid worker and harbor terrorists and fugitives from [37:52] U.S justice and closely is allied allies with another state sponsor of terrorism which is Iran [38:01] and provided intelligence and security support to the narco trafficking anti-american maludo regime in [38:07] Venezuela and was found smuggling hundreds of tons of weapons material to North Korea and repeatedly [38:16] welcomes Russian spy and warships and encourages thousands of their nationals to deploy to Russia [38:25] to fight on Russia's side in Ukraine and is currently giving China access to spy spy facilities with [38:32] signal and intelligence capabilities and furthermore orchestrates an extensive espionage network against [38:39] the United States and has over 300 military drones within reach of U.S territory including U.S military [38:47] installations and nuclear facilities would you consider a country like that as a threat to the national [38:55] security interests of the United States yeah and I think you're describing Cuba and that's absolutely [38:59] the case but I think you one more point I would make is all of these violent Marxist left-wing you know [39:05] radical terrorist groups that operate in many countries have destabilized Colombia for example for years and [39:10] others all found their seed money from Cuba as well they sponsored these groups all around the region [39:15] and part of the region is still playing the price for the for the rise of those groups uh particularly you know the the [39:22] FARC elements that have now spun off and and are actually uh carrying out violence as we speak in [39:27] Colombia yeah and and I hear that from heads of state throughout Latin America uh the impact that that [39:32] regime continues to have the threat to their security to democracies and to our national security let me [39:38] shift again also the western hemisphere uh on Venezuela um you know we know what happened this this fugitive [39:45] of U.S law is now uh in a in in here in U.S custody uh and and that we thank uh the secretary uh you and [39:53] the secretary of war and in particular the president for his leadership on that you have laid out what [40:00] I believe is a clear three-phase plan for Venezuela stability first and then recovery and then uh transition [40:07] where are we in on that process in that process and are we still on track yeah for first I think it's [40:15] important to remind I think tomorrow will mark the five month I know it feels like it was five years [40:19] ago three years ago seven years ago five months ago that's how long we've been into this process [40:25] so let me say Venezuela is not today where we hope it will be for the peoples of Venezuela's sake but it [40:30] is on a trajectory that I think is a very positive one if it continues and it has to continue as you [40:35] said our first uh priority was stabilization we did not want to see mass migration we did not want to see a [40:41] civil war we did not want to see societal breakdown and that required working to the extent possible [40:47] and wise with existing institutions not to preserve them or to perpetuate them but to ensure that we [40:52] didn't have systemic breakdown the second is recovery which is the phase I would argue we are primarily in [40:57] right now and that is the ability to economic to recover their economic vibrancy to allow small [41:02] businesses to develop and the like and part of that is ensuring that the wealth of that country [41:06] which is primarily through mineral resources that are and and energy resources are going to help the [41:12] people of Venezuela directly and that's what you see through the treasury blocked account is that [41:16] the money that they're generating from these oil sales is that is being driven to pay for things like [41:21] salaries and to buy medical equipment and and things that are beneficial to the people not being [41:26] pilfered and used as side hustles to help you know cronies obviously more work remains to be done [41:31] ultimately and and other things that need to happen ultimately the answer in Venezuela is a free [41:36] and fair democratic election because it's not just the right thing it also is necessary in order [41:41] for them to be able to attract the kind of investment that they want in order for it to be a long-term [41:45] and investable place that can attract the kind of capital and interest and normalize the way their [41:50] economy works they will need to have a government that is legitimately in place through elections but [41:55] you have to create the conditions for that those conditions include free and open media we've seen [41:59] independent journalism operating again in Venezuela that's been a positive you need to give space and time for [42:04] political parties to organize and prepare them position themselves to participate in those elections [42:08] you need a new electoral council because they're the ones that are going to be counting the votes and [42:12] ensuring that the vote is legitimate all that work is ongoing there are multiple areas of cooperation [42:18] with the interim authority some of which are not publicly discussed in the proper setting we could [42:22] that have been very positive and uh and i also think for talking about diplomacy we now have an embassy [42:27] open there with with with Americans on the ground every single day interacting with the business community with [42:33] American businesses that are interested in coming in with members of the interim government and also [42:37] members of the opposition so i think we're making good progress we're not where we need to be but [42:42] we're only five months in and i think it's important to remember that because this will take some time [42:46] we're dealing with 16 18 years of uh of a system and you take reversing that responsibly will take some [42:53] time but we're moving in that direction i think in a good pace thank you mr secretary the ranking member [42:57] rose frankel you're right guys first just very quickly you know i i iran's proxies have have been [43:10] the cause of so much human suffering not just in israel but around the world of course hamas was [43:18] responsible for attack on israel we see hezbollah shooting rockets into israel but other parts of the [43:23] world question is are billions of dollars are any funding going to go back to iran so that they can [43:33] resume to fund their proxies as a result of the deal that you are talking about well first of all [43:41] the deal that we are talking about or the deal that you've seen reported in the media is a dynamic [43:46] situation because the first thing the first sort of what needs to happen at the front end is they want [43:51] us to lift our blockade so they can get their ships to market that isn't going to happen unless they open [43:55] the straits so that's the first thing the second thing that has to happen related to the first is [44:00] they have to agree to enter into negotiations that are on very specific topics which they [44:05] have not been willing to do in the past number one they have to agree to negotiate on the issue [44:09] of no enrichment number two is they have to be willing to agree to dispose of i don't mean [44:14] no but it's going to get to your point i promise please okay the second thing is that that they have [44:17] to agree on the issue of the the highly enriched uranium now what you're asking about is what about [44:22] sanctions relief or frozen funds and assets so let's begin by saying that this regime as you have [44:27] rightfully pointed out even despite sanctions even despite all the pressure have found a way to [44:32] funnel money and resources to these proxy groups what's being discussed is what do they get in [44:39] exchange what nuclear sanctions that have been on them do they get in exchange for compliance for [44:44] the reason if they comply with the reasons why those sanctions were put in in the first place [44:48] all of that will be condition based meaning no there's not going to be some sort of advanced [44:52] signing bonus or good faith front i mean really my question is is is the administration contemplating [44:59] returning money to iran so that they can continue to fund these proxies all that are that are hurting [45:09] millions of people yeah well if the money is going to fund the proxies then it won't be returned to [45:13] them obviously i think the question you're really asking is what concessions are you willing to make [45:17] in a negotiation there are specific sanctions some of them are congressional some of them are un [45:22] and some of them are from the executive branch but there are specific sanctions that are in place [45:27] related directly to their nuclear program all right let me just that's why they were put in place in [45:31] the first place let me we're taking back my time i would just say this i would urge this administration [45:36] not to give money to iran to continue the work of their proxies but let me move right on because [45:44] uh i want to i want to talk to you about what's actually happening at the state department uh usad [45:52] uh was dismantled they did so much of the development work humanitarian work around around this world [45:59] um the we you told us that the regional bureaus and embassies uh were going to do the work [46:09] uh we we have sent directives from congress uh to to the state department and uh for example millions [46:20] for education for agricultural capacity for water and sanitation how would these our directives getting [46:28] to uh these regional bureaus and to the diplomats and when you only when you have a hundred missing [46:35] hundreds plus missing diplomats who's getting our directives and what are they doing with [46:40] them well first of all we're not i think a hundred something missing we're saying is the unfilled [46:44] ambassadorial posts but everyone every mission of the united states is staffed if they don't have [46:49] a senate confirmed ambassador and we would prefer to have senate confirmed ambassadors now as you [46:53] know there's a process for doing that some of it's you know we've i think we've only gotten like a [46:56] hundred something nominees in state department through the senate um and and some that i think we [47:01] need to pick up the pace in terms of appointing people to some of these posts and believe me i want that to [47:05] happen but i don't nominate them so we have to work with the white house to get those names out [47:09] there now on your fundamental question is what is the role the embassies and regionals bureau play [47:14] i think the answer to that question is can be found again i want to harken back to these global [47:19] health mous with 32 countries which is a conglomerate of different aid programs that are involved in [47:24] helping with with health and could include water projects we these are often negotiated directly out [47:31] of the embassy with personnel that are on the ground that are laying the groundwork to do it [47:34] the other things the embassies do is they help us identify the areas that would have the highest [47:39] impact at the best efficient cost in these individual countries i'm just sorry to interrupt [47:44] you but what what i'm worried about what a lot of us worry about is is the lack of expertise the [47:50] expertise so the your people in the in the various countries even know what to do what has happened to [47:58] that so there were thousands of people fired i mean how do we know that in each of these countries [48:04] you have someone there yeah who knows how to fix a water system or well first of all i think that [48:11] we would ideally do in every one of these cases that we would be partnering with the local government [48:14] with with the with the domestic government with our host nation to ensure that we're relying on [48:18] building their capacity to do this work and our job it depends on the country and that's the unique [48:23] part of the way approaches you could do a bucket and you can say this is money for x and it has to [48:28] work exactly the same all over the world or you could do it the way we're doing which is understanding [48:32] that a health mou with one country maybe look very different than what a health mou looks like in [48:37] another country and then we would have to hire or add depending on the contract whether it's an [48:43] international partner or others if necessary the expertise for implementation but the key to the [48:48] front end of it is identifying what those unique opportunities are because i can tell you going [48:52] through the 32 mous they are all different and i'm mr secretary i can tell you this that because of [48:59] whatever the lag time the the lack of expertise right now there are there literally thousands [49:06] and thousands of people dying i'm gonna i know this i know i don't know by the way i just don't agree [49:09] with that number but i just uh mr just one question and we'll have another round okay one more thing [49:16] this is very important all right we have here's a floridian i'm gonna have to give you know we have [49:23] heard first of all this country right now has a has a immigration policy which is an an abomination [49:33] we're taking innocent people who have committed no crimes off the street and we are sending them [49:40] to countries some of them that they have no connection to and we are hearing that the state [49:48] department is out there making deals with foreign countries and saying you if you want to get the [49:57] development funds or health care or humanitarian funds you must take x amount of deportes and mr [50:04] secretary you're gonna have to answer that relatively quickly because we're way past time i don't know [50:09] where you've heard that from we have certainly negotiated third country agreements with multiple countries [50:14] around the world but none of them are under threat in some cases for example they have said well [50:18] we'll do this for you as a but we will do but we have some costs associated with assuming this [50:23] responsibility and we provided them funds to deal with that but i can't recall the single instance [50:28] i don't know where you're who's reporting this to you where we're basically threatening a country that [50:32] we're going to never deal with them again if they don't help us but obviously we are friendly and help [50:37] but this is the way diplomacy should work honestly let's be frank we are going to reward those that are good [50:42] to the united states we're not going to be as friendly to places that are not furthering our national [50:47] interests for a long time this has been going on we there are countries around the world we were [50:51] spending millions and millions of dollars and they vote with us against us 99 of the time at the un [50:56] and all the commercial contracts are with china but yet we're funding their entire health care system [51:00] look i think that's a legitimate thing to say hold on a second does this make sense all right let's [51:05] let's move on and we've we've given the ranking member because she is the ranking member [51:09] and she's my friend and partner way over time and thank you mr secretary for indulgence uh speaking [51:17] of now the vice chairman of the subcommittee is uh recognized mr edwards thank you mr chairman uh [51:23] mr secretary thank you so much for being with us i recall when you were with us about a year ago [51:29] you talked about the new focus of the united states state department i i want you to know that [51:37] uh i was privileged to participate last week in the codel led by the esteemed chairman diaz bellart to [51:46] south america and had the opportunity to witness how effective and how targeted our foreign assistance is [51:57] being used to in your words to further the interest of america it it was so incredibly obvious uh through the [52:07] the empowerment of the ambassadors that i was able to meet there through the sense of uh respect [52:17] that those ambassadors carried along with the uh the not only the empowerment that they had but the sense [52:27] of respect that they had from the people in those countries almost to the same level as their very own [52:33] heads of state and it was so heartening to see your words put into action in in in those countries it's [52:42] truly working we saw evidence that narco terrorism is being eliminated we're saving lives here in america [52:50] because of that it was obvious that the influence of china is being diminished and that uh the united states is [53:01] being so much more recognized as uh not only a military and economic strength but as that soft power [53:10] that i continue to hear members here on this panel speak of and so uh i i just commend you and the [53:17] administration for the work that you're doing i got to witness it firsthand and i appreciate the chairman [53:23] uh leading such a distinguished codel to uh to to let us see and learn those things one of the things [53:32] that you spoke about a year ago was recognizing america's humanitarian responsibility in countries [53:40] like this and i've had a number of uh organizations the ngos that are charged with administering uh [53:49] humanitarian assistance uh it talk to me about concerns with the predictability of the uh funding that [54:00] uh this committee has appropriated and uh i i think you can probably agree it's necessary for them to be able to [54:09] predict when that funding will come available so that they can plan human uh resources so they can uh plan on [54:16] supply lines and and that sort of thing what advice can you give this this this committee and those folks that are charged [54:27] to implement the humanitarian needs on how we can work better with the state department on that [54:35] predictability well first of all it's unless i know the specific programs are kind it's a little bit [54:40] harder to opine in general on what you've outlined other than to say that i think what they'll find [54:45] certainly over time is that their ability to get answers will be much quicker now we still have an [54:50] obligation and a due diligence requirement and any contract we award any grant any monies we obligate we [54:56] have to make sure the money is being spent on what it's supposed to be spent on we have to make sure [54:59] that it's being dispersed at an appropriate rate and that we're getting and that we're getting a [55:03] result for it so i think what they'll find over time is that the system that is managing this for them [55:08] now will be a lot less byzantine a lot less bureaucratic they may not always get the answer they want on [55:13] some of these programs but they will get their answer faster our ability to deploy and to partner with an ngo and [55:18] in case of a humanitarian crisis is an example right now with ebola i mean that is something that has [55:23] required us to ramp up opportunities to keep it you know constrained and ultimately to help deal with [55:28] it and it we have partnered with samaritan's purse we have partnered with some others uh who are in [55:33] and some international organizations as well and our ability to deploy and quickly provide the funding [55:37] for that more on uh more of a uh sort of an acute event as opposed to a chronic one is is is better than [55:46] it used to be we are responding much faster than it was in the traditional system and the more legacy [55:51] projects i think what they'll find over time is once this becomes systemized year and they'll become [55:56] more familiar with our systems and they'll be and they'll they'll find that that um that that uh that [56:02] certainty that they need in terms of planning and so forth but i would just say can we'll continue to [56:07] communicate with your offices on specific programs as we've done throughout the year when people raise [56:11] one with me and say this specific contractor oftentimes what you'll find is because the system is new [56:17] they still haven't figured out how to work through it once we can resolve that it becomes more [56:21] systemized for both sides thank you and i look forward to uh to working with your department in [56:27] order to do that great thank you thank you just just a note that on this side we've been on time [56:33] but i'm not complaining um the ranking member the full committee is a privilege to recognize you [56:38] thanks for not complaining mr chair uh uh mr secretary nearly 60 percent of americans disapprove of [56:47] president trump's illegal war of choice with iran the war has led to skyrocketing fuel costs for [56:53] americans needless deaths of american service members while failing to achieve any of the stated aims of [56:59] the war in the meantime it seems that the trump administration seems to have forgotten all about [57:05] the crisis in gaza nearly eight months after it was signed the administration's 20-point plant peace [57:12] plan stands largely on a field i have it right here it looks like there are a four and five have been [57:19] accomplished and the rest have not been accomplished here most palestinians in gaza are sheltering in [57:25] overcrowded uh tents pests and rodents spreading disease health services remain limited israeli military [57:34] strikes have escalated despite the ceasefire pushing the total death toll to nearly 73 000 [57:41] a late late last week prime minister netanyahu ordered the idf to see to see 70 of gaza in complete [57:51] violation of the ceasefire agreement so secretary the state department must take the lead for the u.s [57:59] implementing the president's 20-point plan what is the status of implementation what progress should we [58:05] expect to see the next few weeks what is your response to prime minister netanyahu's directive [58:11] you don't on gaza yes yes okay so well because you started out talking about iran so let me just [58:19] first let me just say i i disagree i said in the meantime the trump administration seems to have [58:23] forgotten about the crisis in gaza no no one's forgotten about it i think luckily there's not active [58:28] combat operations happening of the kind that we saw a few months ago but it's still a challenge that [58:31] we're going to work through i just wanted to correct the record for a second you said we had not [58:35] achieved our stated aim and i know you went through it in your opening statement if you don't mind i have a [58:41] limited time for questioning mr secretary no but you gave a lot of introduction and then i can answer [58:45] some of these things well i'm going to get to gaza i want to get to the 20-point plan which is what my [58:51] question is is about implementing the 20-point plan what is the status of implementation what progress do [58:57] we see in the next few weeks what is your response to prime minister netanyahu's directive on the on let me [59:05] first start with the status we are now at a phase where we should be having or want to have an [59:09] international stabilization force that goes in and provides the security this requires the [59:13] demilitarization of hamas which right now they have not been willing to meet the conditions [59:18] necessary by the way it's not just the united states that's complaining about it many of our partners [59:23] in the region are pressuring hamas to enter the demilitarization phase so there would be will be no [59:28] progress with the 20-point plan unless there is a demilitarized hamas well there are other elements [59:33] of the 20-point plan that are ongoing as an example the plan for reconstruction and economic [59:37] development and the donors that are coming forward to fund it that continues to move forward and [59:41] develop it's just you can't implement it no one's going to invest money in hama in in gaza until hamas [59:47] is demilitarized because they know there's going to be another war 20 point these 20 points were to be [59:52] moving i i would think and moving along with various uh phases of implementation as we go along here in [1:00:02] terms of uh also humanitarian aid um uh uh it it is all laid out but as i said there are only two [1:00:10] that have been uh apparently implemented no that is what 72 hours of the hostages will will be released [1:00:18] so netanyahu's directive idf sees 70 percent of gaza just just your view because i need to move on yeah our [1:00:28] view of it is i i haven't i think those comments he made last week in an appearance that he did [1:00:32] somewhere we have a plan it doesn't call for that and at the end of the day we understand that what we [1:00:37] want and i think what the israelis would ultimately want is a gaza that is governed by a non-hamas so [1:00:42] you have no opinion on on the idf seizing 70 percent he made that statement but that's not part of this [1:00:49] plan this plan doesn't call for that what this plan calls for and it's what we're committed to carrying out [1:00:54] is that but there has been no implementation of the plan well that the people of gaza are [1:00:58] governed by a technocratic palestinian government or palestinian please mr secretary you're not letting [1:01:06] me answer yes you are answering that no you're not answering them because you don't have answers um [1:01:12] let me just say this and first of all you talked earlier in your comments about humanitarian assistance [1:01:17] and how quickly it's going out quite frankly um that hasn't really happened uh in gaza uh commercial [1:01:24] not just commercial of uh humanitarian aid going in let me just talk about that's for [1:01:30] humanitarian assistance that's a false statement i have to do is not a false statement we spent [1:01:33] hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid in gaza already and that includes through the [1:01:37] world food program and other organizations you know i've talked to cindy mccain at world food [1:01:42] about the situation the humanitarian crisis in gaza so have i the food and hunger and it's not there [1:01:49] it's not there let me just continue on humanitarian situation ghana's gaza worsens at the same time [1:01:58] the israeli government has ramped up its pursuit of a de facto annexation of the west bank oslo accords [1:02:06] have been torn up demolition orders for palestinian villages are on the rise incidents of settler [1:02:12] violence have surged with no accountability and the construction of settlements and outposts [1:02:19] continues at a rapid speed from may 12th to may 18th palestinians faced more than 50 attacks by [1:02:26] settlers across the west bank including arson attacks that damaged a mosque homes farmland and [1:02:33] vehicles the u.n office for coordination of humanitarian affairs has documented an average of six such [1:02:40] attacks per day the israeli government has begun proceedings to demolish the palestinian community [1:02:48] of khan al-amar just east of jerusalem as part of its goal of constructing settlements along the e1 [1:02:55] corridor which would bisect the west bank foreclose the possibility of a continuous palestinian state [1:03:04] the secretary do you believe that the situation in the west bank is one that leads to greater [1:03:09] cooperation between israelis and palestinians or will create conditions for a two-state solution and [1:03:16] promote israel's two-state solution in my view will promote israel's long term as the president has [1:03:23] stated clearly and repeatedly he is not in favor of these changes or the changes in the status in [1:03:28] the west bank that it potentially complicates our ability to work out the deal in gaza as well and [1:03:33] the president's been consistent he has said this multiple times and we've shared that with our [1:03:36] israeli counterparts as well and what aren't we doing to deal with settler violence we will we will [1:03:42] do that if that's all right we'll do that in the second round thank you very much thank you thank [1:03:47] the ranking member thank you um mr molinar who's also the uh the the chairman of the select uh [1:03:52] committee on the ccp was recognized thank you mr chairman uh secretary rubio thanks for being with [1:03:58] us today and uh thank you for uh the important work you're doing around the world and for the sacrifice [1:04:04] you and your family are making in order to do that we appreciate it uh also i just want to say uh my [1:04:12] apologies for the young gentleman from the ccp funded code pink uh who interrupted your opening statement um [1:04:20] i want to go right into some questions about the ccp um i wonder if you could characterize china's [1:04:30] support for iran uh military or otherwise okay well that's an it's a important question i think let me [1:04:38] start with this point i don't think the the chinese have publicly said and repeatedly said and told us in [1:04:43] our visit as well they are not in favor of what iran is doing in the straits they they are opposed to [1:04:48] that as is virtually every country in the world some obviously more open than others um but but they've [1:04:53] stayed at that point i would say that china has not provided any assistance to iran in any way impeded [1:05:02] our operations or ability to operate um they clearly have had a previous relationship and you [1:05:07] can see that and some of the military equipment that they have is certainly of chinese origin and [1:05:12] likewise but we have seen no signs in the short term that they that in during this situation that [1:05:18] anything they've been providing them has in any way changed the dynamic in the battlefield and i think [1:05:23] they've been quite cautious about engaging themselves in it that said we would like to see their help at [1:05:28] the united nations we have a resolution right now it has the highest number of co-sponsors of [1:05:32] any resolution ever proposed before the security council that would you know create authorities to [1:05:37] deal with the with what's happening in the straits and um unfortunately the chinese continue to [1:05:43] threaten a veto of it so if in fact they are against the closure of the straits they should be endorsing [1:05:49] this at a minimum abstaining and not using a veto of it the russians are another matter of course [1:05:53] they're vehemently opposed to that resolution for a variety of different reasons but um um i would say [1:06:00] that as time goes on the chinese economy will begin to be negatively impacted by what the iranians are [1:06:06] doing for two reasons the first is because the concept of a tolling system sounds intriguing the [1:06:13] reality of it is very hard to implement and in fact you saw a chinese destined vessel attacked and hit [1:06:19] two weeks ago by the iranians and the second is because if you as con in it for a export driven economy [1:06:25] like china to have countries around the world's ability to purchase diminish as more of that goes [1:06:31] towards fuel that will begin to have an impact on their exports as well so i think china in the short [1:06:36] to long term should has should have and we've made this point to the chinese have a vested interest as [1:06:40] well in ensuring that iran stop its activity thank you uh there was a media report recently that iran may [1:06:48] have used a chinese missile uh to shoot down a u.s fighter jet are you familiar with that report that [1:06:55] report i can't comment on the specific technology that they use suffice it to say look they do own [1:07:00] chinese systems they own some russian systems and they've developed some native systems especially in [1:07:04] the drone technology um and um but i don't know specifically about i mean i'd have to refer you [1:07:09] to the department of war i would i would hate to comment on something and give you a misleading answer [1:07:14] thank you uh during the recent china summit i was thankful president trump raised the issue of china's [1:07:21] prisoners of conscience and the president indicated that xi jinping is seriously considering [1:07:28] the release of pastor ezra jinn and i know this is something you care deeply about have there been [1:07:34] any tangible follow-ups or indications regarding this case or others like jimmy lie since the summit [1:07:42] well first of all jimmy lie the president's raised it twice he raised it once when we met in [1:07:46] south korea um late last year october whenever that was raised it again during this visit uh pastor [1:07:53] jin is obviously a more recent case and it was also raised in the meeting and i don't want to do [1:07:57] anything to jeopardize his status or what's working other than to say that you know i'm cautiously [1:08:03] optimistic that we could potentially find a positive resolution to his case um and that those talks and [1:08:09] that communication is ongoing but sometimes with these things they work better when they just happen [1:08:14] and so i don't want to say anything publicly that could undermine or harm that effort in any way but [1:08:18] be clear that we have raised that and it is a priority for us thank you um as you know in [1:08:23] michigan we're proud to have a large chaldean community many of whom are still having deep family [1:08:30] and religious ties to iraq iraq's christian communities particularly chaldean christians have [1:08:36] faced years of displaced displacement economic hardship security threats in the nineveh plain and surrounding [1:08:42] areas how is the administration supporting religious minorities including iraq's chaldean community [1:08:50] well as you know they're just recently forming a new government with a new prime minister [1:08:55] and uh and so i think the fundamental challenge in iraq has been and continues to be what level [1:09:00] of influence do the iranian-backed shia militias have inside the country over the government [1:09:05] and in fact we rate we face that that situation very dramatically during epic fury when in fact there [1:09:12] were launches occurring against our facilities both in in baghdad and in erbil so it would be [1:09:19] raised within the context of our relationship with the new prime minister we want to give him a chance [1:09:23] to be successful but we also want to give him a chance to be responsive to the issues that we've raised [1:09:29] including the issues just outlined about you know unfortunately a much smaller christian community [1:09:33] than it was there 25 30 40 years ago but still nonetheless facing very difficult circumstances [1:09:39] obviously we also want to see a government that's less under the domain or control um of of these [1:09:45] iranian-backed militias who still remain very powerful in the country so those have been the [1:09:49] leading features but we're going to give this new prime minister a chance we're willing to do things [1:09:52] that are helpful to him but obviously we have things that we're concerned about primarily the iranian [1:09:57] shia militias and the influence they have and the danger they pose to the region and to the country [1:10:02] but related to that is the issue you raised and that is these minority communities inside of iraq [1:10:06] uh who have faced oppression now for the better part of you know 20 years and uh and and have [1:10:11] seen their numbers in areas diminish as they more and more people have left the region but it is a [1:10:15] priority and we do raise it because we think it's important for a sort of a diverse nation like iraq for [1:10:21] every segment of society to have not just representation but to feel safe and respected inside the [1:10:25] country it is a feature of our talks with them thank you uh thank you mr chairman thank you miss ming you [1:10:32] recognize thank you mr secretary uh for being here as the daughter of immigrants i'm so proud to [1:10:40] represent queens new york uh the world's borough and a strong community of immigrants and refugees [1:10:46] including a large afghan community even though we promised them safety in exchange for risking their [1:10:52] lives for our country thousands of our vetted afghan allies remain stranded abroad including relatives of [1:11:00] some of my constituents last month this administration reportedly decided to close camp as alia and [1:11:07] force 1100 afghans there to choose between going to the democratic republic of the congo where they have [1:11:14] no ties and which is facing an ebola crisis and afghanistan which would be a death sentence uh what is [1:11:22] the plan to help our vetted afghan allies who were promised safety in the u.s yeah well the plan is and [1:11:29] we're working on this very actively and is to have more than just those two alternatives and [1:11:34] obviously the afghan alternative is not one that's realistic for most of them and and um and so we work [1:11:39] we're engaging every single day and we think we have a number of other countries that are willing [1:11:43] that now that the question is not countries willing to assume the question is how many we [1:11:47] have about a thousand something people there and we have to move them and so i don't think [1:11:51] there's one country that's going to take all 1 000 but it has to be countries that a are willing [1:11:55] to assume some of this responsibility and numbers that are manageable to them but also places [1:11:59] that give more options to these individuals that they would be comfortable going to so we are [1:12:04] very actively engaged and this is you know we have a lot of capitol hill engagement on this issue from [1:12:08] both sides of the aisle it's a priority for a lot of people and we don't want to see a situation where [1:12:14] any of them are being forced back into afghanistan because that's just clearly not an option for some [1:12:18] of them uh the case of relatives of of american citizens uh i think is a is a separate case in the [1:12:26] sense that they have ties to the united states and so that process the processing is still ongoing in [1:12:31] terms of the applications the background checks and the vetting and so forth um we're obviously [1:12:35] operating right now under a directive that prohibits the entry of afghans into the united states uh but [1:12:42] that could change at some point and that that we'll be able to facilitate some of those but but that that [1:12:47] that issue right now is we're just trying to find more countries that will step forward and being able to [1:12:51] assume in some cases it might be 200 in some cases they might be able to take 150 300 but give them [1:12:57] some options other than just those two that you've just outlined can you rule out third country options [1:13:02] especially drc you mentioned earlier that the state department won't deport people to to conflict [1:13:09] zones can you rule that out going forward you mean rule out the drc yes well ultimately these people [1:13:15] would have to they would have to agree that they're going to go to drc as well because that's what we [1:13:18] want to do is give them seven or eight options rather than one or two um and i imagine if we can [1:13:23] find more options for them and there are some countries look i think the problem is it's not [1:13:27] that i'm trying to i mean we could probably talk to your staff about it um a lot of these countries [1:13:31] are in nascent talks with us about their willingness to assume some of these people but they don't want [1:13:36] me announcing it at a hearing because then they have you know newspaper and media going crazy in their [1:13:41] country about what does this all mean but i can tell you that we are i know of at least five other [1:13:46] countries that we have spoken to that seem at least open to the idea of assuming some number [1:13:51] of these refugees we'd like to get these people more than just five options maybe five or six or [1:13:56] seven are they conflict zones can we rule out deporting people to conflict zones well i don't [1:14:02] remember all five or six of them but i don't think that any of them would be conflict zones is my [1:14:06] recollection um thank you uh at the same time we are stranding our afghan allies we are rolling out the red [1:14:15] carpet for white africaners from south africa even though we've completely stopped resettlement of [1:14:22] other vetted refugees the president recently approved 17 500 spots for africaners and none for any other [1:14:31] refugee from anywhere else in the world can i ask what your standards and justification for issuing only [1:14:39] refugee slots for them well first of all the united states over the last four years before the [1:14:44] president returned to office assumed upwards of 15 to 20 million people that entered our country [1:14:48] through a variety of methods so our immigration policies must always ultimately be geared by by [1:14:54] the national interest of the united states and in an era where we're already dealing with 15 to 20 [1:14:58] million people that have entered the country in a mass migration event in such a short period of time [1:15:03] adding to that number in the short term would make no sense in our view from the national interest [1:15:08] hence the freeze on refugee admission the case you point to is a very specific one probably a time [1:15:13] limited one and that is we have gauged that there is real interest from a unique subset of people in [1:15:18] in south africa who would be interested to coming in the united states and who we assess have a high [1:15:23] likelihood of rapid assimilation and success in our society and hence this program was created now [1:15:29] that's not a program that's going to exist in perpetuity it's a program that's designed to the [1:15:33] fact that we are seeing the demand we are seeing applications from south africa of people willing to enter [1:15:38] the united states and we think this is a group of potential refugees our afghan allies are refugees [1:15:45] they have been vetted 1100 versus this new 17 000. but it's more than just vetting we're also trying [1:15:53] to determine again this is the immigration policy united states like everything we do has to be [1:15:57] geared by the national interest and it is in our national interest if we are allowing people in our [1:16:02] country be people that can quickly assimilate into society and be successful why can't they assimilate [1:16:07] into society a background check i've been to their centers in my district in queen they have [1:16:13] assimilated and contribute and pay taxes yeah but we've already assumed a lot of afghan refugees as [1:16:20] you said you have them in your district we've already assumed a large number in the past the point [1:16:24] is that the the general policy has been to limit the entry of refugees from all over the world and then [1:16:29] to create the special track because of a unique circumstance in the short term of a high demand from [1:16:34] a number of immigrants that we have determined if they pass the vetting and the checking [1:16:38] we very quickly assimilate and contribute to our society that's what our by the way that's what our [1:16:42] immigration policy should always be about is what's good for the country i think it's important for [1:16:46] america to keep our promise as well in the interest of national security our our word to our global allies [1:16:54] to people who we made a promise to we 1100 versus 17 000 1100 vetted uh allies who already helped this [1:17:06] country i think they should be given consideration and not sent to conflict zones and i think i don't [1:17:12] know if the secretary you want to and you've already answered do you want to say anything else i mean we [1:17:17] talked about the point in the decision that was made yeah mr alford you recognize her well thank you [1:17:24] chair thank you ranking member and the rancor for our full committee um i do want to recognize you [1:17:29] mr chairman for the great work that you've done to help rein in the spending while still protecting [1:17:34] america's national security interest around the world last year chairman dies will art delivered a 16 [1:17:39] percent reduction from fiscal year 25 enacted levels nearly 9.3 billion dollars in savings without [1:17:46] compromising support of our closest allies are weakening our posture on the world stage this fiscal [1:17:53] year the committee built on that success with an additional six percent reduction cutting another [1:17:57] 2.69 billion dollars while still maintaining robust funding for israel taiwan jordan egypt and [1:18:03] critical indo-pacific security programs these reductions mr secretary are only possible because [1:18:10] of you and your leadership which has forced partner nations to shoulder more of the burden and make [1:18:17] sure that american taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for countries that refuse to meet their [1:18:21] obligations and that really aren't on our side to begin with and so i salute you sir there is a lot of [1:18:28] noise in this world there's noise out in the hallway there's noise that we've seen on the back row here [1:18:34] and what i'm about to say is not going to make the news because the i used to be in the news is i [1:18:39] know what makes the news it's it's the clips of the loud people the code pinko people that want to [1:18:45] disrupt and yell hateful hateful things to you sir but i want you to know that the vast majority of [1:18:53] americans have a lot of respect for you have a lot of appreciation for what you're doing you are a [1:19:02] stalwart a resolute rudder in a sea of chaos and i just want you to know that we appreciate that [1:19:09] thank you for the job that you're doing and i do want to talk about cuba chairman deus blart brought this [1:19:16] up um is cuba a threat and how big of a threat is cuba to the united states of america well i think [1:19:23] the fundamental threat is that they are a um first of all thanks for your nice comments i would they [1:19:28] should give you more time too uh i would say that cuba is two two things about cuba number one is [1:19:34] it's a failed state i mean it really is i mean the model that they have economic will never work [1:19:38] and and and it will never work because the country's no longer even controlled by the government [1:19:42] there i mean the people are under the control of the government but the country's under the control [1:19:46] of a private i say private a military controlled conglomerate that controls about 70 percent of [1:19:52] the gdp of the country none sitting on 18 billion dollars in assets none of that money transfers over [1:19:58] to the treasury or to the or to be helpful to the cuban people anyway meanwhile they have power plants [1:20:03] that have been failing because of years and years and years of chronic mismanagement and lack of [1:20:08] investment so on the one hand you have a country that doesn't have money to buy fuel and on the other [1:20:13] hand they have you have a country that uh that is sitting on a military conglomerate that has 18 [1:20:19] billion dollars in assets and none of it transfers over to the cuban people a lot of people don't [1:20:22] realize it and they're accountable to no one they are the ones in ultimate control of the country [1:20:27] so what you have now is a failing system frankly i think in the since 2001 is that 15 percent of the [1:20:33] population of cuba has left some to the united states many to spain or other different countries around [1:20:38] the world uh they've lost a lot of human capital as well so it's on the verge of being a failed state [1:20:43] because of their mismanagement and incompetence and the last straw was they lost free oil maduro used [1:20:47] to give them free oil that's really the biggest change since january they no longer are getting [1:20:51] free oil and we're not in a world where people are in the business of just giving away oil for free [1:20:55] all the time so they're really struggling with that as well now the second thing i would argue is they [1:21:00] are also a base of operation the chinese the russians operate intelligence collection facilities [1:21:05] targeted at the southeastern united states from the island to cuba that's well documented open source [1:21:10] has reported on that repeatedly they are a country that has long links to all of these transnational [1:21:16] many of these transnational ideologically motivated groups in in the western hemisphere if you travel [1:21:21] extensively in the western hemisphere you will find that behind every disruptive element in their [1:21:26] society designed to for example overthrow or pressure a pro-american government there is a cuban element [1:21:32] involved including through in fact many of these countries have expelled either the ambassador and or [1:21:37] multiple personnel from the cuban embassies because of their intelligence and and counter uh and [1:21:43] subversive activities inside of their country and then they have a long history of supporting actual [1:21:48] violent groups throughout the region uh so all of these things pose a threat to the united states [1:21:53] because a failed state that's friendly to our adversaries 90 miles from our shores that's a threat so [1:21:58] what are we going to do about it well the first thing we're trying to do about it is find a better way [1:22:02] forward for the people of cuba we've made by the way we've made offers to them in this regard we have [1:22:06] offered to distribute 100 million dollars of humanitarian aid through the catholic church [1:22:11] and other non-governmental organizations first they denied we made the offer so then we went public [1:22:16] with it um then they said they would accept it but since then have not been willing to follow up on how [1:22:21] that distribution would work we're fine with it as long as it goes to the cuban people because if you [1:22:26] distribute it through them here's what happens the products wind up on the shelves of the dollar stores [1:22:31] controlled by the conglomerate that i just outlined we know that for a fact you see the same products [1:22:36] but we've delivered humanitarian aid in cuba through this mechanism three million dollars after [1:22:40] the hurricane that went directly to the cuban people in many cases we wish we had six million [1:22:46] destined but only three million has been distributed unfortunately because they've impeded some of it [1:22:50] and all of it marked with a gift from the people of the united states so they know where it's coming from [1:22:55] that we're offering to do that we've made offers on a bunch of other things as well uh so far they've [1:23:00] they've but ultimately i remind everybody that u.s policy towards cuba is governed by law it's [1:23:05] statutory there's statutory requirements for us to change our policies towards cuba embedded in the [1:23:12] law and helps burton the past in 1996 so um that governs that that's the official policy united states [1:23:19] it's embedded in statute so we have to stick to within those parameters as well thank you i've gone [1:23:24] over i yield back thank you sir mr siskamani you're recognized sir thank you chairman thank you secretary [1:23:29] ruby for being here with us um thank you for taking time and answering all the questions i want [1:23:34] to take a moment and start with recognizing the western passport center in my district they um [1:23:41] they're doing an incredible job i i consistently call my office does for passport issues there and [1:23:47] they i the volume that they handle is incredible and their customer service is as high as [1:23:54] as as it could be i i visited it in 2024 and just just to thank them and i want to just highlight [1:24:00] them for you just because they're they're doing such a great job so i want to start out with that [1:24:04] light lighter note i think uh let's go into a heavier topic topic here uh i want to give you [1:24:10] also and the president tremendous credit for your work to combat dangerous drug cartels and other [1:24:16] transnational criminal networks combating international crime is essential to making america safer [1:24:21] stronger and more prosperous i want to ask you about another damaging uh form of international [1:24:27] crime which is human trafficking this issue hits close at home for my constituents in arizona the [1:24:33] department of justice has identified phoenix as one of the top human trafficking jurisdictions in the [1:24:37] country and as one of four states bordering mexico arizona is a major transit point for traffickers [1:24:45] the national human trafficking hotline has identified over 2300 cases in arizona alone [1:24:50] with more than 5 000 victims identified in those cases troublingly the average age of youth trafficked [1:24:57] in arizona is 13 years old four years younger than the national average there's a strong bipartisan [1:25:04] support for the department for state department programs to combat trafficking in persons internationally [1:25:11] so given all this what are the department's regional and or country specific priorities for programs [1:25:17] to combat trafficking in persons and how are you ensuring that these programs are successfully [1:25:22] implemented in support of the national security interests of the u.s thank you for obviously when [1:25:26] we talk about human trafficking you're talking about the international element to it from our [1:25:30] perspective there's obviously a domestic issue as well that that but that's separate from our [1:25:34] involvement um a couple points these migratory routes that existed with mass migration events are the [1:25:39] same routes that are used by human trafficking so clearly when we had a border crisis we had people pouring [1:25:44] over the border we had organizations that were that were involved in trafficking of drugs contraband and [1:25:50] also people we know that and that was a big component to all of this i believe last year of the number [1:25:56] maybe i'm off by a million or two but it's about a hundred million dollars we spent a year ago [1:26:01] on human trafficking programs and it depends on the country every country is different in some cases some [1:26:06] countries are transit zones they're not sources of human trafficking but they are a transit zone where [1:26:11] human traffickers bring people through and so oftentimes the assistance is assistance to local [1:26:17] authorities and helping to partner with us identify or if they're already advanced enough in that field [1:26:21] simply sharing intelligence and information as we gather it and pick it up in other cases the [1:26:26] assistance depending on the country is helping prevent human trafficking in essence working and [1:26:31] partnering with the local with the host government for programs that help identify potential victims of [1:26:36] human trafficking and prevent them from being trafficked before it happens that's the second [1:26:41] and so it really is country specific and one of the reasons why it's so critical that these programs [1:26:46] not be put in a box and say here's human trafficking globally that it's a great example of how this [1:26:52] program needs to these expenditures and our focus on this needs to be specific to the location because [1:26:58] what the human trafficking issue looks like in one country might be different than another country one [1:27:02] country may just be the airport that they're flying people through and we know it another country may be the source of [1:27:08] children that are being literally purchased or bought up or grabbed off the streets and being trafficked [1:27:12] for labor purposes or worse and so that's why in every one of our embassies we have people that are in [1:27:18] charge or also supposed to be helping us to implement that program so through the regional bureau so that it [1:27:25] becomes specific enough to the individual country and whatever role they play in the human trafficking [1:27:30] whether it's transit zone or source thank you um i know we have a second round but i'll ask one more [1:27:36] i know the administration has actively engaged in discussions with israel about the future of the [1:27:40] u.s israel relationship including opportunities to further expand and deepen our strategic partnership [1:27:45] with the current memorandum of understanding on security assistance set to expire in two years [1:27:50] this feels like a real moment to think boldly about how our cooperation can evolve to meet the shared [1:27:57] interests and security needs for both of our nations with that in mind what's your current state [1:28:02] of talks with israel on on the new mou and the broader future of the relationship and who in the [1:28:08] department is leading those conversations well the conversations have been both with the department [1:28:13] of state and the department of war and actually and i think he has said this publicly now uh what [1:28:17] prime minister netanyahu and the israelis have told us is they would like to set up a scenario where they [1:28:21] wean off u.s assistance the way they did with foreign aid about a decade and a half ago so in essence [1:28:26] they'd like to go from the number they're getting now to slowly less every year until the number hits [1:28:30] zero so those are the conversations we're having with them it's at a pretty high level at the stage [1:28:34] although i know we're engaging their ambassador has been dealing with the counselor and chief of [1:28:37] staff in our office on this proposal they've made that proposal to us on a number of occasions [1:28:42] over the last year i think the prime minister spoke publicly about it about a few weeks ago so it's [1:28:47] no longer a surprise but i think one of the things israel's talking about is basically winding up over [1:28:52] the next 10 years in a place where they are getting no i mean they may be buying things from [1:28:56] the u.s but they are not getting any sort of assistance to the mou obviously we'll talk it [1:29:01] through with them and see where we wind up that's not finalized thank you chairman i'll go back [1:29:06] thank you mr uh mr siskamani uh so again thank you mr secretary we do have time for a second round [1:29:12] but i am going to hold people to five minutes on the second round we've we've been pretty flexible and [1:29:16] uh uh but we're going to we're going to now limit it to five five minutes and i will start that five [1:29:21] minutes and try to hold myself mr secretary to five minutes as an example to the rest i mentioned [1:29:31] in my opening remarks and you've heard before that i just returned from a from a trip to south america [1:29:37] we saw some really positive things but we also saw some sobering things regarding communist china [1:29:43] they've spent decades embedding themselves across across the region frankly in ports power [1:29:48] infrastructure communication networks everywhere uh and more recently beijing has been aggressive [1:29:55] moving to lock up america's critical mineral supply uh the chains and so again i think for decades [1:30:02] we've united states have looked the other way uh or worse uh you however have begun to turn turn this [1:30:07] around i saw that firsthand i mean i actually saw that you've aggressively refocused state department [1:30:13] resources and attention on countering china's encroachment in our region in argentina your team signed a [1:30:21] critical minerals framework with president malay's government in february in peru i saw evidence of [1:30:27] u.s pushback and multiple ports we saw that i saw that but this subcommittee wants to support these [1:30:33] efforts which bring me to paraguay because frankly it's the counter example that the whole region needs [1:30:39] to be looking at it needs to be emulating now so while neighbors have flipped to beijing paraguay [1:30:44] has chosen the united states over communist china it's held firm with taiwan for nearly 70 years and [1:30:52] posted the strongest economic growth in south america you've met with president pena and you've [1:30:59] been directing uh state department attention towards partners who stand with us you've talked about this [1:31:04] in this hearing it's working it's really working but i think we can and should do we can and should [1:31:09] do more what do you need uh to make sure that this hemisphere continues to see and serious sees [1:31:15] clearly actually that choosing america over china actually pays off for their people and for the [1:31:22] entire region yeah i think the first thing you know as long as i was served in the senate for 16 [1:31:26] years everybody said we need to focus more on the western hemisphere just like people say you need [1:31:30] to eat more broccoli and more vegetables but no one ever wants to actually do it so i'm proud of [1:31:34] at least over the last year and a half you've seen a more sustained focused on the hemisphere [1:31:38] and uh and it's borne fruit in a couple of ways here here's the challenge the the in the region [1:31:45] not only 20 years of negligence in this regard but what chinese efforts in the region have done [1:31:49] is twofold the first is they it's resource extraction so they try to establish for themselves [1:31:55] access to critical minerals mining of any sort and give themselves these long-term contracts gain these [1:32:00] long-term contracts and uh that allow them to extract resources as they do on in africa and other parts [1:32:05] of the world as well the second is they come in with infrastructure investments key [1:32:09] infrastructure like telecommunications ports these are areas we've seen heavy investment in on their [1:32:14] part and when i say investment i i understand oftentimes these come with financing mechanisms [1:32:19] that can cause these countries to fall into a debt trap the third thing they do frankly is is uh they [1:32:24] come in and they promise to build you an amphitheater or a bridge they may not do a good job at it but [1:32:29] now you owe money for it and then they expect your vote at the united nations and in international forums [1:32:34] as leverage and the challenge in all of this is that oftentimes a country will come to us and say [1:32:39] we want to build x or we want to expand y but the only people showing up are chinese companies there [1:32:45] are no u.s companies showing up there are no american alternatives showing up or western alternatives [1:32:49] showing up and so part of the challenge that we have is to identify and connect those u.s alternatives [1:32:55] and i'm not u.s western you know allied alternatives to what the chinese are offering and and to make a [1:33:01] compelling argument and this is the important work of our embassies that they've been focused on [1:33:05] um and and they'll continue to do so i think continued support for those efforts is important [1:33:09] we have a fund that provides us a little bit of flexibility that we've asked for in our budget [1:33:14] requests that will allow us to very quickly active opportunity presents itself and it's not just state [1:33:18] department money it would allow us to leverage the resources of the development finance corporation [1:33:25] in some cases depending on how uh the deal works out but we most definitely want to see [1:33:30] alternatives to what the options have been available to these countries in the past have been in many [1:33:36] cases solely chinese companies or chinese related companies yeah and we and we heard that everywhere [1:33:41] now look it's gonna surprise everybody i've got 46 seconds but i'm gonna stop now i know no i'm not [1:33:47] going to give it to anybody else at the request but i am going to recognize the ranking member thank [1:33:52] you mr secretary again for for being here i want i want to talk to you about uh two i'll give you two unhappy [1:33:59] questions i'm unhappy about this uh it's about congressional directives and laws that are being [1:34:06] ignored number one the women of the world women when they have access to education capital jobs and [1:34:14] ability to fully participate in our economy they lift families out of poverty they grow markets they [1:34:20] strengthen communities they create more stable societies when they have a seat at the table in [1:34:25] governments and peace negotiations peace agreements actually last longer and nations are more secure [1:34:30] and prosperous we passed two laws you were the sponsors i think of one of them women peace security [1:34:36] act of 2017 the women's entrepreneurship and economic and parent act of 2018 and we have not been able to [1:34:46] find anything that's being done in the state department responsible for having these programs carried out and then [1:34:55] we get this notice i am like i can't even believe it from your office the administration does not have [1:35:03] a dedicated strategy to increase engagement by women and girls and democracy human rights and governance and [1:35:09] programs this is not acceptable and it's not only is it not acceptable it's just wrong i'm telling you [1:35:17] if you want to have this country our country to be safer more prosperous we're healthy you have to [1:35:24] uplift the women and the girls of this world i am pledging to work with you to do that and i hope you [1:35:30] will i i want to go on to another point which is gavi we provided the state department 600 million dollars [1:35:40] for gavi that is the vaccine alliance that delivers life-saving vaccines and protect children from deadly [1:35:48] diseases like measles malaria polio and sulfur its work its work has reaches nearly half the women's [1:35:55] children and has saved over 20 million deaths since since the beginning and now your state department [1:36:05] has not distributed this or not allowing gavi to distribute this because you're waiting [1:36:11] for a response from a vaccine conspiracy theorist i almost put terrorist yeah he's a health terror [1:36:22] robert f kennedy this is so wrong i just asked you i think we asked you about this before to commit to [1:36:30] getting these funds out can you do that i mean first of all i don't think it's fair to call secretary [1:36:37] kennedy a terrorist i mean um he has strong views on health issues and you may not agree with them but [1:36:42] i i think by and large he's also made a positive contribution to this administration a variety of [1:36:47] fields uh whether you agree with it or not that's i and i okay well anyway listen you know what but let [1:36:53] me talk about gavi in specific as you understand that obviously that's been largely a state department [1:36:57] prerogative in the past that the direction of the president we've allowed secretary kenny we've worked [1:37:02] with secretary kenny on his input to get reforms from gavi he wants reforms from the organization [1:37:07] and we've been supportive in pushing those reforms and what i told the committee in the senate a [1:37:11] moment ago is we've now reached the stage not anything negative towards secretary kennedy [1:37:15] where we've now reached the stage where the state department will become more engaged in making sure [1:37:19] we can reach an outcome because we have to get to an outcome here okay but just to reserve my time i [1:37:23] heard what you said we do want the reforms that he supports all right well i don't know what reforms i [1:37:27] can't even imagine this man knows what he's talking about but the fact is we need to get this [1:37:32] these vaccines out then i just want to uh i want i just i do want to just say this that we're still [1:37:39] waiting uh for a report to congress on the women peace and security act i hope you can get that to us [1:37:47] um you told us that the the regional bureaus have dedicated staff on women tell us who to call [1:37:55] because we haven't been able to get make any headway on that and i just want to end with this [1:38:02] um two things i wanted to say first of all this crazy this ice ice is an abomination and what [1:38:11] they're doing and the immigration uh policy in this country is an embarrassment it is inhumane [1:38:17] but it is crazy that you want to let people in from south africa because they can assimilate [1:38:24] while you're throwing out hundreds of thousands of people who have already assimilated and that are [1:38:29] important parts of our economy and family life secondly i just want to end with this i hope [1:38:36] that this administration will have the patience in reaching a diplomatic agreement to keep iran [1:38:44] from obtaining a nuclear weapon but a trade-off should not be giving them the ability to fund proxy [1:38:52] terrorists and with that i thank you again for being here and i yelled back thank you uh and you [1:38:58] did mr edwards thank you again secretary rubio we appreciate uh that you've had an intense day up here [1:39:07] on capitol hill and that uh more intense here than the senate i'll tell you that and that uh you've been [1:39:14] here to share your thoughts your philosophies and you've been so transparent with uh this subcommittee [1:39:20] uh even where there are obviously some places that we don't uh uh agree uh but i i again can't tell [1:39:30] you how much i appreciate the focus of the administration abroad uh with that i've just got [1:39:36] one question fairly short uh the the u.s foundation for national natural security and counterterrorism was [1:39:44] passed into law as the u.s foundation for international converse uh conservation at the end of 2024 [1:39:52] and as you know this foundation was created with the understanding that mismanaged impoverished [1:39:58] and protected areas across the globe can become safe havens for transnational organized crime drug [1:40:05] cartels and terrorist networks all core principles that would fit under the america first agenda [1:40:13] however funds for the foundation now under the purview of the state department have not been [1:40:20] launched and the funding is frozen and because the foundation's two to one private public match [1:40:27] there's about 600 million dollars that could be stabilizing east africa and the sahel [1:40:36] region cracking down on illegal chinese fishing stopping cartel driven deforestation in the amazon [1:40:44] with protected area enforcement is this foundation something that you're committed to and if so what [1:40:51] would need to happen for that to become activated and for the funding to be released well you may [1:40:57] correct me if i'm wrong i think the foundation depends on some appointments that need to happen to the [1:41:02] there's a there's a governing structure to it that has both presidential and congressional appointments i think [1:41:06] those have not happened yet and i know that's probably taken longer as a supporter than you would [1:41:11] want it to see happen in others um we can't really activate this until it stood up and right now it just [1:41:16] hasn't been the the governing structure of it is not in place for a variety of reasons i would imagine [1:41:22] part of it is the change in administration with so much going on we just haven't gotten to the point [1:41:26] where we've gotten i don't believe we have the congressional appointments either on that uh i may be wrong [1:41:30] about that but i don't believe so as well so let me get back to you on where we stand on these [1:41:34] appointments because having that governing structure in place is what's necessary in order for it to be [1:41:38] deployed i can tell you i've heard a lot about it has strong supporters in both the house and senate [1:41:43] in both parties if i'm not mistaken i think senator graham was involved in this effort in the senate [1:41:49] along with senator coons and i'm not sure who the sponsors were on this side so we've had numerous [1:41:54] inquiries but we've got to get those appointments before we can activate it [1:41:59] all right thank you we'll follow up as well i yield thank you um ranking member delora thank you mr [1:42:08] chairman um mr secretary we're currently in the midst of a significant outbreak of a of a type of [1:42:14] ebola that has no authorized treatment or vaccine the outbreak is occurring in a region of the world [1:42:21] that really is highly insecure and in the wake of the administration's withdrawal from the world [1:42:27] health organization the dismantling of usaid and the state department's restructuring of global health [1:42:34] engagements impacting the centers for disease control and prevention it is now my understanding [1:42:41] that the state department is now rushing millions of dollars for the response i would have preferred for [1:42:48] funding to be spent on preparedness and detection uh just as you as you outline in your global health [1:42:54] strategy but here we are uh with a growing uh case uh case counts and people dying in 2014 in an op-ed [1:43:05] you wrote that it was quote inexcusable end quote that no senior official had been designated [1:43:13] to lead the u.s ebola response under president obama and today there is no single designated lead [1:43:23] and the senior national security council position responsible for coordinating infectious disease [1:43:30] and biosecurity is vacant mr secretary who is in charge of the ebola response and how is that different [1:43:41] from what you called inexcusable in 2014 well it's different in a couple ways first of all our response [1:43:48] has actually been faster than the response in 2014 both in the ability to flow funds to our [1:43:53] partners in the region and in standing up all kinds of facilities let me answer the second [1:43:57] question first and then get back to the first we are at this time it's an interagency process in [1:44:01] which multiple agencies are involved in this response the u.s state department's taking a lead [1:44:05] in some aspects of it but even department of war is involved in the sense of flowing for example the [1:44:11] standing up of this clinic this this uh observation post in kenya that will allow us to observe [1:44:17] exposed americans or suspected exposures for 21 days if they are infected those americans will be [1:44:22] transported to a treatment facility somewhere in europe or maybe stateside if after 21 days are [1:44:27] not infected they continue home we're standing up that facility but we flowed i believe well over [1:44:32] 200 million dollars to partners in this response this is not a scramble this is something that broke [1:44:37] out in a rural area of a war-torn country and was underreported for over a month not because of [1:44:43] anything other than the fact that it was in a rural area in a war-torn country that was highly unstable and [1:44:47] on your first point about who's in charge one of the things that's being discussed in the [1:44:50] interagency is whether we need to stand up a specific individuals for this specific case [1:44:55] and that's been proposed there are a couple people being considered i don't want to use the term ebola [1:44:59] czar but someone with the qualifications to sort of serve full time in the coordination of the [1:45:04] interagency in the interim the interagency has a daily meeting on this and we at the state department [1:45:09] have a task force 24 7 on it as well it would be in keeping with what you talked about in 2014 to have a [1:45:15] single person in charge it's always better to have a point person i think you would agree [1:45:20] well ultimately you're trying to coordinate working with the agencies yeah because it's it has to be [1:45:25] interagency but there is a is is one person uh who is coordinating them and the information flows [1:45:32] through so apparently you are thinking about doing that i think it would be sooner uh than than later [1:45:38] and i would just uh say that i i i i think in the wake of withdrawing from world health and dismantling [1:45:47] of us id i think it has put us in a a a position of of really trying to play catch up on this when [1:45:56] because we should have learned uh from 2014. let me adjust um uh last year you testified that quote no [1:46:06] children are dying on my watch end quote due to the termination of usaid it has been estimated that [1:46:15] the total number of additional child deaths is more than 500 000. while we'll never know the exact [1:46:21] number of deaths i believe that there have been additional child deaths from diarrhea from malnutrition [1:46:28] from pneumonia from malaria and hiv i would hope that we would really not accept the consequences [1:46:41] of the termination of these programs because it is unacceptable to see that kind of death and [1:46:49] destruction but that we will have learned that we need this some of these programs and the apparatus to [1:46:58] be in place that help us to prevent uh these illnesses and be able to respond rapidly so that [1:47:07] we can be in the position of the united states of of preventing death particularly amongst the [1:47:15] children of the world with that mr chairman thank you rector member well i just say this number keeps [1:47:20] getting thrown around i dispute that just those numbers are nowhere near reality that's not reality [1:47:25] that's not a reality that half a million well i would be happy to try to document it but mr chairman [1:47:29] my time is expired well what about my time well i get time to respond or i just have to i think it's [1:47:34] fair for him to to for the secretary just for a quick mr chairman the question was asked and we've [1:47:41] been going a little bit over and then if that's the case i can go back and take a look at all the [1:47:45] areas in which this is documented what the losses are because i have that information thank you the [1:47:51] ranking member you can always submit that to the record if you well desire well i just want to respond to [1:47:55] that point let's just give a quick response and then we'll move on the quick response is this no [1:47:58] country in the world spends more money not even close than the united states does on humanitarian [1:48:02] assistance it's not even close we spend more money i believe in the next three or four countries [1:48:06] combined so i would argue if there are such tragic cases happening and i'm sure there are around the [1:48:11] world it's not because we're not spending enough money it's because the rest of the world is not [1:48:15] spending enough money mr chairman 126 000 children died from diarrhea 155 000 from malnutrition [1:48:22] we're going to ask for my ranking member to suspend please well but we gave the gentleman a [1:48:27] time well and to challenge doc documented information how is like diarrhea wait wait wait [1:48:32] hold on hold on hold on order because the programs that deal with that have been dismantled [1:48:38] we spend more money than anybody else i hear you mr chairman and i want to be responsive i yielded [1:48:42] i ended at my five minutes we will we will we will continue i think i think you you you uh you [1:48:49] got your questions the secretary i think answer it now we will go to mr molinar thank you mr chairman [1:48:55] mr secretary you can add on to whatever you'd like to say further but i also want to [1:49:01] ask if you can we've learned a lot over the past few years about critical minerals about reliable supply [1:49:09] chains you've been doing a lot in this area with pax silica quad critical minerals initials framework [1:49:17] um after you maybe respond i would love to learn a little bit more about that well i mean i made my [1:49:23] point my point is we spend more money than anybody else on foreign aid by far not even close and we're [1:49:27] going to spend it smarter than we ever have before as well i mean part of these health compacts 32 [1:49:32] countries around the world have signed compacts with us that will allow us not just to deal with [1:49:36] the acute cases that are occurring but actually strengthen the health programs of these countries so [1:49:41] that they become self-sustaining over time some will get there in five years some may take 10. [1:49:45] but all these countries love these mous because we're building their domestic capabilities to [1:49:49] address these challenges i've always said the best foreign aid program is a program that ends [1:49:53] because the country doesn't need it anymore south korea is a great example this was a country that [1:49:58] was an aid recipient today they are an aid donor we'd love to see that replicated and these countries [1:50:02] that are signing the mous love it because they've gone from an era of dependency to an era of self [1:50:07] sustainment that we're helping and partnering with them directly with their health care systems we are [1:50:12] we are not going we're not just standing up ngos that come in from abroad and go into the country [1:50:17] and tell them this is what you need to be doing we are empowering the national health agencies of [1:50:22] our partner nations so they can deal with us now on the issue of critical minerals look it's it's an [1:50:28] issue of global consensus now forget about which country it is it is not healthy for the global economy [1:50:34] and frankly it is dangerous for national security and the security of the world to depend on any single [1:50:39] country for 90 percent of anything that's critical to your industrial base your defense base your [1:50:44] technology base and so i think there is we we hosted pax silica which you mentioned is a great [1:50:50] conglomerate of countries that have signed and cooperating on protecting particularly the supply [1:50:54] chains related to artificial intelligence and development in that field as well as hopefully [1:50:58] standards that go associated with it in the field of critical minerals we had a ministerial i don't [1:51:05] remember but march or april this year earlier this year we had three dozen or more countries attend the [1:51:12] critical minerals ministerial and every country go into today and at every embassy around the world [1:51:17] critical minerals are a key component of our diplomacy not just the access to the raw materials but the [1:51:22] ability to process those materials into a usable product that are that are that are critical and and [1:51:28] obviously we are doing that overlaid with a mapping of our vulnerabilities and i don't say our [1:51:32] vulnerabilities these are the vulnerabilities of japan the vulnerabilities of south korea the [1:51:36] vulnerabilities of the majority of europe and frankly of the world we simply have a hyper concentration [1:51:42] of of of the whether it's critical minerals or you could add pharmaceuticals to that concentrated in [1:51:49] the hands of one country and it leaves us dangerously dependent and cannot continue and [1:51:53] dangerously dependent because you can be cut off in a crisis you can be cut off in a contingency in which [1:51:58] they use it against you for leverage so it's an all hands on deck approach and i would say almost [1:52:03] anywhere you travel in the world you will find if you interact with our embassy that critical minerals [1:52:07] and critical mineral agreements and critical integral cooperation has become central and core focus of our [1:52:13] economic diplomacy around the world i wanted to just follow up on a little bit of a separate issue [1:52:21] but it's something that i know you think about when you think about haiti and all they've been through [1:52:28] what more can the administration do what more can congress do what ways does the international [1:52:34] community need to step up well on haiti we have this gang suppression force which replaced the mss that [1:52:39] was standing there um it'll come it'll come at a fraction of the cost to the u.s about a hundred [1:52:45] something million versus eight or nine hundred million because other countries have stepped up and [1:52:49] donated to it the force is actually over recruited the number of the number of commitments we have for [1:52:54] the force is larger than the number of slots we needed available and the core of it is this [1:52:59] these gangs won't just sit back i'm sorry these groups won't just sit back and watch gangs operate [1:53:04] this international security force that will be there will be on the ground to take and hold territory [1:53:09] from the gangs so that the government can gain in strength hopefully be able to have an election [1:53:14] but also take back their economic vibrancy this is an effort that was endorsed at the united nations it [1:53:19] took a lot of work at the united nations to get it approved so that's what's opened the door for all [1:53:23] these countries to join it it's going to be a challenge haiti is a very big challenge but [1:53:27] this is the best plan we've had in a long time to address it it has the support of the international [1:53:32] community not just rhetorical support but monetary support and troop contributions and police [1:53:37] contributions and uh we hope it's successful it has to be successful because there is no plan b at this [1:53:42] point thank you mr chairman are you back thank you very much miss man you're recognized thank you mr [1:53:48] chairman uh mr secretary this administration has claimed to prioritize curbing waste fraud and [1:53:55] abuse but in this department you've overseen the destruction of over eight million dollars worth [1:54:01] of birth control bought by u.s taxpayers even though many organizations have already offered to buy [1:54:08] and to distribute them these are the same birth control methods used by millions of women and girls [1:54:14] here in the u.s if distributed they could have prevented an estimated 110 000 unsafe abortions and the death of [1:54:23] over 700 moms your apartment your department is attacking them earlier this year 66 of my colleagues [1:54:32] and i sent you a letter in january asking about the status of these supplies but we never got an answer [1:54:40] secretary rubio what is the status of these birth control supplies we're operating under executive [1:54:46] directive not to participate in these programs internationally the united states is not going to fund this [1:54:50] internationally it's as simple as that i mean that that's what's happening but these products already [1:54:56] exist how much have taxpayers spent to keep them in warehouses instead of distributing them well i don't [1:55:04] know what it costs to store them in the warehouses per se i think some of them as you pointed out have [1:55:08] been has been have been disposed of we're not going to use them the government united states is not going [1:55:13] to be involved in distributing contraceptive and all these other things around the world and that's a directive [1:55:18] we're operating under from the executive order and that's not where we're going to prioritize our funding [1:55:25] okay these these supplies are not damaged expired or destroyed um do you have any issues with them being [1:55:32] distributed we're going to follow the directives that are in place i have an issue in us being involved [1:55:37] in that that is not what foreign aid in the united states is supposed to be paying for to be honest [1:55:40] it's not foreign aid of the united states should be to advance the national interest of our country [1:55:44] and that's what we're going to focus our resources on and i know there'll be disagreement people are you [1:55:49] know making noises in the background here but here's the bottom line that well look at the end [1:55:54] of the day that is the policy of this administration and we're going to execute on that policy our foreign [1:55:59] aid is going to be about advancing the national interest of the united states we don't view that [1:56:03] this is in the national interest of the united states that we don't know what what core national [1:56:07] interest of the u.s do these programs advance for us we're we're not just making noises we're concerned [1:56:13] about preventable deaths and life-saving measures for for women for girls for um i understand but [1:56:21] this at an internet again the the united states there are a lot of worthy causes and worthy endeavors [1:56:26] around the world the united states government is not a charitable not women and girls around the world [1:56:30] of course women and girls and every one of our programs every one of our of our programs that have [1:56:35] to do with with foreign aid be it our work with a global fund be it our work with pepfar be it our work [1:56:41] with these mous that we have in place on fund every single one of these involves not i would say in [1:56:47] some cases more women girls and children than they do adult males because of the nature of the aid that [1:56:52] we're providing but you're asking about a very specific type of if i could ask in in march the new [1:56:57] york times reported that that ken jackson a senior state department health official at the time [1:57:02] wrote a memo and wrote a memo to omb director vote on these supplies including the option to distribute them [1:57:09] to your knowledge did mr vote receive this memo and did he have anything to do with these decisions [1:57:15] i don't remember that article that you're pointing to or the memo in specific that you know if mr vote [1:57:19] had anything to do with the decisions about we always as you guys know the role that omb plays they [1:57:24] issue directives on spending to the agencies um that that's the role they've always played that [1:57:29] includes in the formulation of the budget we've presented to you i can't speak specifically about [1:57:34] whether he saw that memo or whether someone in his office addressed it so i mean mr secretary [1:57:39] you were here in congress before you know that for over six decades in a bipartisan way the us [1:57:46] has supported these international family planning programs they have saved the lives of tens of [1:57:51] thousands of women and girls for pennies on the dollar last year despite congress directing funding [1:57:58] for international family planning programs on a bipartisan basis you told me quote there is no plan [1:58:05] to spend that money we're not going to be in that business globally we're not going to do it just [1:58:10] earlier this year congress again funded these programs um i i want to know what is the plan and under what [1:58:18] authority are you refusing to spend taxpayer dollars directed by congress well again i i don't we're [1:58:25] working through directives for this year we'll be in consultation with your staffs about the ones that [1:58:29] we're going to be pursuing and we'll bring those available to you as we make them but the policy that you [1:58:34] reiterated that said last year is the one i've stated here again today pretty consistently [1:58:38] on the issue of directives that you just asked about will be i know you the appropriations bill [1:58:42] from last year had a number of them and we'll be working with your staff to we haven't finalized yet [1:58:47] which ones we have a problem with and which ones we don't but um but we'll be doing that here very [1:58:52] shortly thank you yield back thank you uh mr alford you're recognized sir well thank you once again chair [1:58:58] thank you secretary the uh first world cup match in the united states of america i think is in nine days [1:59:03] team argentina arrived in kansas city yesterday uh they're we're hosting them uh a lot of tourists [1:59:10] or millions of tourists are coming to the united states of america uh can you talk about what your [1:59:15] department has done to get ready for this massive influx of visitors and make sure that cities like [1:59:21] kansas city receive a return on their investment for these events well as you know we set up an [1:59:26] expedited process for visas for people that own the fifa card in essence the fifa you have to prove that [1:59:30] you have a ticket you purchased a ticket you still go through the vetting you still go through all [1:59:34] that process but you have to prove that you've bought a ticket to a game not just that you're [1:59:38] coming to attend so that's for the fans perspective and so far from what we you know we're interacting [1:59:43] now on a daily basis with fifa and the world cup people we feel really good about the processing [1:59:48] there are a couple places that might be more challenging but by and large um if you own a fifa [1:59:54] a ticket and and you've registered through that program you will receive extradited processing to make [1:59:59] sure you can attend matches in the united states obviously it's also being hosted by canada and [2:00:03] mexico so that provides some level of complexity because some of the matches might begin in mexico [2:00:08] and wind up finishing in the u.s but um nonetheless we feel pretty good about where we stand on that [2:00:14] in the case of the athletes and the teams themselves um obviously that that's been handled separately [2:00:20] they don't they're applying differently they're still going through the same vetting by and large [2:00:24] but um for the most part we have not had any reports of any teams having a struggle to get [2:00:30] here except for um i will i will highlight this um the the iranian team has chosen to stay in mexico [2:00:39] as opposed to the united states um in the beginning of the man we have no problem with the athletes as [2:00:43] we stated earlier or their support staff but what we're not going to allow is for them to embed in [2:00:49] their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the [2:00:53] irgc or things of that nature so we were going to watch that very closely and we'll continue to [2:00:57] watch that very closely but by and large i don't anticipate that problem with any other country [2:01:02] want to end our final moments talking about global media real hot topic last year can you update us on [2:01:09] the new broadcasting plans with recent changes to the government's global media investments how are we [2:01:13] reaching people in the communist authoritarian nations and how have widespread internet outages for [2:01:20] example in iran affected free media from entering into these contested spaces so while i believe that [2:01:25] that program is under the jurisdiction of your committee we don't entirely that's an ancillary [2:01:29] function to the u.s state department nonetheless we have great interest in how it works out [2:01:34] because it does have an impact on our diplomacy on our foreign policy as you highlighted appropriately [2:01:40] that there was actually an internet outage it's shut down the internet was completely shut down in iran [2:01:44] until very recently it was restarted so even vpns wouldn't work because you had no access [2:01:49] liberty to the pipes they've restarted some limited access to the internet because it was devastating [2:01:55] their commercial sector but it's been problematic it's been damaging no doubt about it and and and [2:02:00] shows you how critical and important it is and why authoritarian regimes are so fearful of it as you know [2:02:06] recently there was a court order that basically stopped all of the reforms that have been put in place [2:02:11] by the previous administrator so we've had to go back to the drawing board and begin from scratch [2:02:17] on rebuilding that global program as a result of that court order all the decisions that were made [2:02:22] by the previous director were also eliminated again we don't control it but we are involved in giving [2:02:28] input and guidance because it does have a direct impact on our ability to conduct diplomacy and on [2:02:32] conditions within these countries got a minute 30 left i want to ask one last question i'm going to pivot [2:02:38] back to gaza just a bit because there's been some allegations made that uh maybe we aren't living up to [2:02:44] our commitment to this 20-point plan is the case sir not that uh having to do with hamas hamas was left [2:02:52] in place by the previous administration who tied bb netanyahu's hands refused to let him finish off hamas [2:03:00] and now we're still having to deal with these uh terrorists who keep popping up and and uh threatening [2:03:06] the people of gaza who want to get on with their normal life i mean at the core is that the problem the [2:03:12] issue with gaza is that our hope is not just for a peace deal our our hope is for a a complete [2:03:17] rebuilding of it in a way that's positive that gives people economic opportunity and some level [2:03:22] of governance for themselves without having to be run by a terrorist organization and so the key to [2:03:27] that is investment and attracting and there are there's plenty of interest as i said both donor countries [2:03:31] in the region companies that want to be involved in the redevelopment and good people in charge of [2:03:35] sort of envisioning what that would look like the fundamental challenge at the end of the day will [2:03:39] always be that you can get all the pledges you want for assistance in rebuilding you can get all [2:03:44] the interest you want from those who want to go in and be a part of it no one is going to invest there [2:03:48] as long as hamas is militarized because as long as hamas is militarized they know that there's going [2:03:54] to be a war in the future there just is if hamas remains in place so the goal now is to demilitarize [2:03:59] hamas that is that is the impediment that's holding up the the rest of it is still ongoing all the planning [2:04:04] all all the the meetings all of the but but the impediment to actually effectuating many of these [2:04:09] other points is that hamas still refuses to demilitarize and it's not just us that are [2:04:13] frustrated by it many of the partner countries in the region that helped put this deal together [2:04:17] are frustrated and pressuring hamas to comply with that requirement as well thank you sir i yield back [2:04:23] before i recognize uh mr suscimani i just remind the gentleman that uh two of those players on the [2:04:28] well at least two maybe more but two that i'm aware of right now top of my head uh who are [2:04:33] playing for the argentina national team play weekly in miami into miami so anyways thought [2:04:39] i'd mention that mr suscimani you're recognized thank you um secretary everyone here on the panel [2:04:45] has welcomed you and um thank you for being here i'm not sure that our welcoming nature is totally [2:04:51] reflected on the 60 degree ac setting in this room uh it's freezing at least for an arizona or floridian [2:04:58] maybe in the hot seat it's not but over here it's felt pretty cold uh but i i do wish to end [2:05:03] with uh more on the warm side of things um when and it's been said already by by the chairman and [2:05:09] some of my colleagues here on the critical mineral side of things uh that the backbone of our defense [2:05:14] system this is more a statement than the question because i know you've answered it already but i [2:05:17] want to agree with you on this energy infrastructure and the emerging technologies right now china [2:05:22] dominates the global supply chain for for many of them and you address that uh this is a serious national [2:05:27] security uh vulnerability and arizona specifically we have a mate we play a major role in solution [2:05:34] my state produces nearly 70 percent of the u.s copper and has significant untapped critical mineral [2:05:40] deposits that could meaningfully reduce our dependence on foreign supply chains uh yet permitting challenges [2:05:45] and the lack of diplomatic coordination continues to slow the process so i i wanted to mention that uh if [2:05:52] you have any further comments on that please go ahead but i just have one question on nigeria and then [2:05:56] you can cover both if you want and then that'll be the end of my time uh i want to acknowledge the [2:06:01] administration's counterterrorism successes along the nigerian partners against bogo haram uh these [2:06:08] are meaningful steps forward defending people of faith from persecution remains a top priority [2:06:13] for this subcommittee which is why our fy 27 bill conditions assistance to nigeria one of the [2:06:20] deadliest places in the world to be a christian today this committee also submitted recommendations to the [2:06:26] white house and violence against christians in nigeria and we hope those inform the path ahead [2:06:32] with that in mind how does the department intend to move forward on this issue particularly on the [2:06:37] atrocities prevention and religious freedom protections thank you for that actually it's an [2:06:41] interesting uh not that we were unaware of it but it was congressional attention to this matter that [2:06:45] first brought it to the forefront even though we've been monitoring and watching it for a while [2:06:50] it's members of congress that really accelerated public attention on the plight of christians in nigeria [2:06:54] um one of the first things we did immediately is engage with nigerian nigerian authorities because [2:07:00] in many cases what was happening there was not a lack of willingness on their part it was a lack of [2:07:04] capability in essence they were confronting groups that in many cases had better weapons uh more [2:07:10] sophisticated weaponry in some cases they were facing a real domestic challenge and they too jointly [2:07:14] identified these terrorist groups which are the ones that are conducting these massacres [2:07:18] as a threat to their security we were able to enter into very cooperative arrangements for them in fact [2:07:23] i've met with their national security advisor on a number of occasions i know our department of war [2:07:27] folks are working with them quite closely and have been able to conduct two you know significant [2:07:33] joint operations targeting these groups one on december 25th one as recently as two weeks ago that [2:07:38] eliminated the number two in the global uh isis affiliates in terms of the um and a very successful [2:07:46] operation that in addition to eliminating these individuals captured a substantial amount of [2:07:52] intelligence and uh items of intelligence value that will inform not just further operations there [2:07:58] but operations in other countries or or threats emanating from other countries as well uh since then [2:08:03] we've conducted a couple of other joint operations much smaller scale so i think we're at a stage now [2:08:08] where the cooperation between the united states and nigeria and going after these groups is pretty [2:08:13] substantial and i think a good success story and it's the work of both diplomacy from the state department [2:08:18] but frankly also you know good liaison to work with the department of war thank you thank you for [2:08:23] that mr chairman i yield back thank you mr siskamani um as reminder members as you all know may submit [2:08:29] additional questions for the record mr secretary look let me you have multiple hats secretary of state [2:08:36] national security advisor let me just thank you for your outstanding service to this great country of [2:08:40] ours and also thank you for your time today you've been very generous with your time this concludes today's hearing [2:08:45] the subcommittee on national security department of state and related programs stands adjourned