Marco Rubio hearing Part 2: Trump's Secretary of State budget testimony amid stalled Iran peace deal

[0:00] the subcommittee on national security department of state and related programs will come to order [0:07] secretary rubio i am so pleased to welcome you back to the nsrp subcommittee for today's hearing [0:14] on the fiscal year 2027 budget request for the department of state and related programs [0:22] mr secretary because of your extremely busy schedule that's an understanding which [0:27] i would argue has led to an extraordinary record of success for the american for for american [0:33] foreign policy we were unable to get your testimony on the budget request prior to the markup [0:39] of our fiscal year 2027 bill we hope the bill will soon be considered by the full house and then [0:45] as you know negotiated with the senate before becoming law so there is still plenty to discuss [0:50] today in our fy27 proposals as well as how the department is implementing fy26 funding provided [0:57] earlier this year now despite uh being late uh in the budget season i believe this hearing [1:04] is well timed as uh you may have heard i just returned uh from leading a codel to south america [1:12] i was reminded once again how much leadership matters president trump and your leadership [1:20] implemented by our embassies abroad has really fundamentally changed the course of our foreign [1:27] policy and history and it couldn't have come at a more important time following four years of the [1:35] previous administration's efforts to consistently reward our enemies and frustrate our allies likewise [1:42] we see the positive impacts of the leadership of key partners in our hemisphere such as president [1:49] pena in paraguay and president mille in argentina who are standing firmly with the united states and our [1:55] shared values despite tremendous pressure and in doing so advancing the national security and economic [2:03] prosperity prosperity prosperity of our country as well as theirs but while the anti-american anti-freedom [2:11] forces in our hemisphere are really being defeated at the ballot box they're not giving up on the [2:18] contrary they are aggressively trying to sow chaos including through violence all you have to do is look at [2:26] what they are doing right now in bolivia the region also is confronting external malign influences most notably [2:34] the prc who are not happy about what you and president trump are accomplishing in partnership with pro-american [2:43] allies they're ratcheting up the pressure and will continue to fight back in what is now really contested [2:50] space that america has ignored way way too long the trump administration is transforming the world in bold and [3:01] durable ways and as chairman of this subcommittee i intend i intend to provide the resources you need [3:10] to ensure we can double down on our wins and and continue to support freedom and security throughout [3:18] the hemisphere and beyond however we don't need to increase top line funding to do this in fact our fy [3:27] bill f 27 bill reduces spending by 2.7 billion dollars from the enacted level that is in addition [3:37] to the 12 billion in responsible responsible cuts to funding that this committee has delivered since [3:45] 2023 because the greatest long-term threat to our country stability and security is our debt so with less funding [3:58] funding this bill does more i want to repeat that this bill does more for our national security we [4:06] provide an increase for embassy security to keep u.s personnel safe we increase foreign military financing [4:12] and international narcotics control and law enforcement to ensure our partners and allies around the world [4:19] have the best equipment and training to advanced to advance our shared security i would note that your [4:28] budget request in two of these areas embassy security and counter counter counter narcotics and law [4:35] enforcement is greatly improved from fyi from the fy 26 request by seeking levels that more accurately [4:42] reflect the needs that we see today especially to carry out president's national security strategy the [4:50] the president's national security strategy in the coming years i look forward to examining more comprehensive [4:57] budget requests that will support the ambitious and critical foreign policy goals of this historic [5:04] president now however i think we both agree that it's just not it's not only just how much you spend [5:12] it's how the funding is actually spent as you know well mr secretary an america first policy requires [5:22] careful strategic consideration of how to spend american tax dollars abroad to that end our bill maintains the [5:31] requirement for you mr secretary to consider prior to providing funds the voting practice of other [5:38] countries at the united nations it also requires an assessment of cooperation on other issues of [5:45] importance to the united states such as migration issues opposing foreign adversaries and burden sharing [5:52] among others these are all areas of focus where i believe department has achieved notable success [6:00] and i look forward to discussing them further with you mr secretary [6:05] to support a policy of peace through strength the committee recommendation for fiscal year 2027 once again [6:11] supports allies and partners of the united states while countering adversaries and those those countries and [6:19] non-state actors that support our adversaries our bill includes steadfast support for our great ally israel [6:28] by providing 3.3 billion dollars in foreign military financing consistent with the u.s israel memorandum of [6:37] understanding and it maintains critical support for egypt and jordan with respect to confronting adversaries the united [6:46] states has been in nearly continuous conflict with the islamic republic of iran since its founding in 1979 [6:55] for almost five decades iranians have endured repression violence and torture at the hands of the evil iranian [7:04] regime regime a regime a regime that exports terrorism and brutally suppresses dissent at home and attacks [7:12] the united states and our allies mr secretary last week mr secretary on mike cordell we visited the site of [7:20] of the amya bombing in buenos aides where in 1994 iran's just terrorist proxy hezbollah attacked a jewish center [7:29] in argentina killing 85 85 people and injuring over 300. and in 1992 hezbollah bombed the israeli embassy [7:39] in argentina killing 29 people and injuring more than 200. these are just two examples of how iran and [7:48] hezbollah have been exporting deadly terrorism around the world for decades we have a responsibility to do [7:57] everything we can to stop these terrorist regimes before they claim more victims now in my view the [8:07] coordinated military action by the united states and israel against iran's military capabilities as well [8:14] as its nuclear program will help ensure the security of the united states and our and our allies and [8:21] partners for years to come so i'm sure members will have questions for you about these operations [8:28] including the status of efforts to help secure freedom of navigation in the in the straits of [8:33] hermuz and the status of our embassy operations in the region the committee also continues its [8:39] long-standing focus on countering the challenge the united states national security posed by the [8:46] people's republic of china and the chinese communist party this includes funding above the request for our [8:53] indo-pacific strategy including through fully funding the countering prc influence fund this bill [9:02] strongly supports allies and partners in the region including taiwan and the philippines and pacific island [9:09] countries as i mentioned at the beginning i am particularly proud of the fact that the united states [9:17] has reprioritized the western hemisphere and put and put the americas first which has been a major [9:25] foreign policy priority throughout our history as with the president's bold action in venezuela to [9:31] remove the indicted criminal criminal nicolas maduro the united states is now decisively tackling [9:38] security challenges closer to home like putting anti-american regimes like communist cuba on notice [9:46] threats to our national security should and will not be tolerated the bill continues strong support [9:54] for democracy programs for the people of cuba venezuela and nicaragua calls on european partners [10:00] seeking support for ukraine to stand for freedom and democracy in the western hemisphere as well [10:08] especially in cuba venezuela and nicaragua one of the state department's facilities in argentina that we [10:15] visited last week the place displays a plaque that reads the following it says the following quote democracy [10:22] is still the hope of the world this is a sentiment that i think we should always remember more broadly [10:29] the committee and fatally supports your efforts your efforts to strengthen united states economic ties [10:36] with countries in our hemisphere this includes uh combating the influence of the prc securing access [10:44] to critical minerals supporting the nearshoring of vulnerable supply chains and identifying commercial [10:50] opportunities such as in countries transitioning away from authoritarian or communist political systems [10:58] all of these areas of emphasis align with administration administration priorities and i look [11:04] forward to working with you mr secretary on its implementation on the implementation mr secretary we [11:11] have in endeavored in the committee to provide you with the resources the resources and the flexibility [11:18] that you need to implement to implement the president's america first foreign policy we appreciate your team [11:25] working with us to implement community directives from fiscal year 26 and i want you to know that we [11:32] work very closely with you on your priorities as we advance this measure this bill through the legislative [11:40] process now before i conclude let me thank you for your service and your family uh mr secretary and also [11:48] reiterate how much we appreciate the service of the men and women of the department of state let me now turn [11:56] uh to the ranking member by the way another great floridian uh for her opening remarks um thank you [12:04] member frankel thank you and and welcome mr secretary you know it really is something that that the three of us [12:10] all served in the florida legislature together a long time ago and uh i i also want to say i want to just uh [12:19] thank my chair who we we work very hard to on bipartisanship because i one thing i do really [12:27] believe is when we're talking about facing the world and the challenges that we have to be try to [12:36] be on the same page now we do have some differences of opinion which i will talk about today and uh i also [12:44] want to say uh secretary i saw you this morning your testimony this is a very rigorous day for you and [12:52] we see you all over the world and um i thank you for your service i may not agree with everything you [12:58] say or do but i have a lot of respect the time and commitment that you put into your job um on the [13:09] budget i'm not going to talk that much about the budget i really uh the comments i have are really going [13:15] to be on uh what's going on in the state department from our point of view democrats point of view we we [13:22] do have a couple of missing members i want people to know because it's primary day in some of the states [13:29] in this country and so they're out actually uh in their reelection uh it's not that they didn't want to [13:36] see you um i just want to say on this budget last year we actually we worked out i think uh i didn't like [13:47] the top lines we i think we could have had more money but the fact is we did come up with a bipartisan [13:51] agreement this year uh our budget passed here only on republican uh support for us things were missing [14:02] like our paying our dues to the u.n family planning for the women of the world uh human rights we think [14:11] we have to do a better job on that and i i hope as with as our budget goes through we can [14:18] uh get together on those points but at the core of this hearing is about whether america leads or [14:27] retreats whether we prevent crises or wait for them to become catastrophes and whether we preserve the [14:36] diplomatic development and humanitarian tools that has makes and will make america safer stronger and [14:44] more prosperous uh when you this is secretary when you started your tenure at the state department i was [14:50] honored to attend you're welcome i will tell you that i thought you were you were there with me right [14:55] or i was there with you we're together we were together with a lot of other people uh and i would [15:01] just say this your your remarks were inspiring uh and i left very very hopeful uh about your commitment to [15:09] democracy and american leadership and then what happened doge came in with elon musk other i won't [15:19] i'm not going to go through the litany of names came in with what i think was an insidious sledgehammer [15:26] because we have we have witnessed the devastating consequences of the devastation of dismantling of [15:34] usaid determining of critical health and development programs enforcing thousands of experienced public [15:43] servants out of government and the consequences are not hypothetical people are living in some of [15:50] the world's most vulnerable countries places facing a poverty conflict hunger and weak health systems [15:59] that have long relied on american partnership and leadership places like sudan haiti ethiopia are losing [16:06] access to health care families are going hungry humanitarian crisis are deepening and americans [16:13] influence is shrinking as our adversaries are expanding theirs aka of course china in just one year mr [16:23] secretary these cuts have contributed to more than 750 000 deaths worldwide roughly 88 lives every hour [16:35] malaria is surging hiv treatment programs have been disrupted health centers have been closed we hear reports [16:43] reports from countries like haiti the democratic republic of congo bangladesh enjoying rare cuts [16:49] to family planning have forced more than 1400 clinics to shut their doors leaving an estimated 9 million [16:58] women without care and contribute contributing to increases in hemorrhage infection unsafe abortion and [17:04] preventable death these are the mothers of the children the spouses uh that we expect to be taking [17:16] care of families experts experts experts warned us were on track for millions more preventable deaths by [17:25] 2030 and meanwhile a dangerous ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo was spreading [17:32] rapidly making harder to contain by the emissions administration's decision to cut funding to the world [17:38] health organization which has resulted in their staff cuts and now this is a good one [17:47] or a bad one at the direction of the vaccine conspiracy theorists also known as robert f kennedy jr the [17:57] secretary of health and human services this administration is continuing to withhold funds from gavi the vaccine [18:05] alliance and this is an organization which has helped save more than 20 million lives since 2000 [18:11] immunized more than 1 billion children strengthen health systems in some of the world's poorest [18:17] country and help prevent the outbreaks of the deadly diseases such as measles polio pneumonia [18:24] retrovirus and yellow fever stopping them from becoming global threats [18:32] and now now and now the administration has dramatically expanded the global gag rule which was [18:40] uh many ways uh a a a killer to women but now out to uh conditioning vast swaths and non-military assistance on [18:53] ideological requirements unrelated to the mission of foreign aid and this will disproportionately affect the [19:02] lgbt community and we should not let ideology get in the way protecting human rights at the same time [19:14] an understaffed and weakened state department is expected to absorb the full uh scope of america's [19:21] diplomatic development and humanitarian responsibilities while operating under restrictive [19:27] politically driven directives that often bypass congressional intent and boy has that been happening [19:35] we were promised that the state department's reorganization would empower regional bureaus and [19:42] strengthen american leadership we do not see that happening we were told that congressional directed [19:48] programs would continue instead priorities that congress have has funded and mandated including food security [19:56] security clean water education and women's empowerment have been sidelined with little transparency and no clear [20:07] implementation and the reality is simple too few people are being asked to do too much without the [20:15] expertise needed to succeed more than 100 ambassador positions remain vacant including many in africa a [20:25] continent that will be home to one quarter of the world's population by 2050 and meanwhile many of our most experienced events [20:35] developmental technical experts they've been pushed out uh leaving an already overwhelmed state department [20:43] staff to fill the gap uh because it seems to us that the american appears more focused on short-term transaction [20:52] than long-term stability and uh we we are now seeing and this is shocking uh we are seeing life-saving assistance [21:03] treated as leverage only offering countries if to agree to unrelated demands involving trade deportations [21:16] and critical minerals to get the resources they need for their population to thrive [21:23] that's not partnership i call it coercion and uh you know around the world the humanitarian crisis continues [21:32] the war with iran has now entered its 13th week the straight home i'm not telling you anything you don't know [21:39] remains largely closed disrupting energy markets and the movement of fertilizer not just oil [21:46] fertilizer food and humanitarian supplies and these consequences are not only uh felt abroad but [21:54] but also of course here at home especially to our farmers so in communities where america assistance was [22:02] once promoted uh stability where we promoted stability and opportunity news new research is already showing [22:13] an increased instability and a conflict following the abrupt dismantling of usad programs with no [22:23] substitute at the united nations the united states is increasingly absent from critical discussions on [22:31] human rights democracy and women's empowerment and even even as we expect the international community to [22:41] support our priorities of why we fail to meet our own commitments uh that's getting back to our our 20 20 27 [22:51] budget we need to pay our dues the result is clear our alliances have weakened our credibility has [22:59] suffered in american state in the world has diminished we need a state department and an international affairs [23:06] budget that reasserts american leadership honors our commitments supports those that needs and advance [23:12] a foreign policy that makes our nation safer stronger and more prosperous because we we know this when [23:19] you know people say well what's what is in it to us well you know what when people abroad when they when [23:26] they are educated when the children are educated when they're not hungry when they're healthy there's less [23:32] opportunity for disruption and chaos and wanting to join terrorist organizations i i i can tell you this [23:40] and i've said this before i'm not really bragging okay but this is how my my son is in that was a united states marine [23:49] he's he's back home thank goodness but he served in iraq and afghanistan he would be the first one to tell [23:56] you and i'll be the first one to tell you that most americans would rather prevent war than send their [24:02] sons and door daughters to fight them and that's why soft power matters that's why what we're doing [24:08] in this budget matters that's why what uh mr ruby or what you're doing at the state department should [24:15] matter diplomacy prevents conflicts before they erupt diplomacy not bombs and bullets diplomacy a global [24:28] health program stop outbreaks before they reach our shores development reduces the desperation that fuels [24:36] extremism and strong alliance ensure that we do not face threats alone that's how america leads that's [24:44] how america stays safe and unfortunately it seems to me it's my opinion and some others the administration [24:54] has abandoned that proven strategy and uh mrs secretary really uh and i say this in good spirit because i [25:02] in the end i hope we can come together on our budget uh and i hope you'll share share today with [25:09] this committee how the united states intends to meet today's global challenges without sacrificing the [25:15] diplomatic development and humanitarian tools that have long advanced our interests and we'll look [25:22] forward to your testimony and to uh the questions of of my colleagues and with that mr chair i yield [25:28] back i thank the ranking member and by the way having a member of the u.s military is in your family is a [25:34] very good reason to brag absolutely so uh we'll now yield to the ranking member of the appropriations [25:40] committee miss delora for her opening statements you recognize ma'am thank you very much mr chairman and [25:46] thank you ranking member frankel um for the recognition and i want to just say welcome mr secretary [25:54] uh and look forward to your testimony and and questions uh there is an old saying often attributed [26:02] to benjamin franklin that by failing to prepare one is preparing for failure that is a fitting [26:11] description for this administration's foreign policy to start the trump administration has hollowed [26:18] out much of the american diplomatic corps there are 195 ambassadorships in the united states foreign [26:26] service as of may 19th 109 of those positions were vacant we do not have ambassadors to either ukraine [26:35] or russia and the president has been unable to mediate an end to the war there despite his campaign promise [26:44] to do so within the first 24 hours of his term conflict in the middle east continues [26:51] to escalate with ceasefires all but abandoned prime minister netanyahu has announced he intends to [26:58] deploy israeli forces to occupy 70 percent of the gaza strip while continuing strikes in lebanon [27:08] settler violence in the west bank is becoming more aggressive by the day and the president appears to [27:15] have completely given up on peace talks to end the war he started with iran resuming military strikes over the [27:23] weekend the rationale for the war shifts whenever the president speaks at first it was to topple the [27:33] regime and free the iranian people then it was to cripple their military capacity then it was to preempt a [27:44] response to an attack that israel was poised to carry out then it was to reopen the strait of hormuz [27:54] which was open before president trump started the war the most recent justification is to prevent iran [28:04] from developing a nuclear weapon or helping to implement it a goal they are now pers but president [28:12] trump tore up doing diplomatically after the jcpoa less failing militarily then three years after it was [28:24] signed the iranian regime is still in place and iran promptly the iranian people are not free began [28:32] enriching uranium the iranian military remained strong enough to control the weapons grade control the [28:40] strait of hormuz after claiming that iran's nuclear program had i often wonder whether or not any had been [28:47] quote obliterated less than a year ago when suggested that that was something ago the president is now [28:53] realizing that my iran might do and then that you cannot destroy iran's newest context the defense [29:01] department clear program by bombing it and estimates that we have spent some can only delay it and the [29:08] only way 30 billion dollars on this war to secure a nuclear free iran although the true cost is likely on [29:17] is to negotiate a deal be much much higher and what but after failing to do this we do what do we [29:25] have to show the president threw up his hands in the air we find ourselves are saying and this is a quote [29:34] in the absurd position of having i don't care if begun a war to pursue a goal that negotiations are [29:43] abandoned that the obama administration so here we had already achieved more than 10 years ago all are [29:53] forced to suffer the condo but that the trump administration of the president's indifference [30:00] reversed the joint conference americans are paying comprehensive plan of action or the jcpoa [30:07] higher prices for gas okay was pains taking groceries and everyday necessity negotiated over the course cities [30:18] but by his own admission the president of 20 months by doesn't does not care if the war drag diplomatic [30:25] experts and clothes on and he does not think about his coordination with our partners impact on the [30:33] american peers and our allies people at all it prevented iran from enhancing rain after taking office [30:43] this to the grade necessary to produce the trump administration withdrew from the worst and nuclear [30:50] weapon it allows health organization and dismantled for independent inspectors from the international [30:57] the us agency for international atomic energy agency national development thousands and organization to [31:05] which we currently do not programs were canceled and thought have an ambassador by the way thousands of [31:12] programmatic experts were to verify iranian compliance laid off subsequently which they did health clinics were [31:23] shuttered devise by contrast the current talks are happening surveillance systems were greatly weakened [31:29] in a much more tense environment all while our global health efforts with pressure coming uh uh pressure [31:37] were withheld and exploited that's coming from the conflict on as leverage to extract concessions [31:44] from partner nations who depend on them holding them hostage for the health necessities that they [31:52] needed unturned until they might have agreed to a trade agreement now we are faced with a significant [32:00] infectious disease outbreak in central asia and central africa a species of ebola for which there is no [32:08] authorized vaccine or treatment is rapidly expanding and is expected to take months to address [32:17] it is primarily concentrated in the democratic republican republic of congo where we do not have an [32:25] ambassador ebola does not wait for bureaucratic reorganizations it spreads when surveillance systems [32:33] are weakened health workers are laid off clinics lack protective equipment and communities lose the trusted [32:40] government partners who help detect and contain outbreaks before they become public health emergencies [32:49] thanks to years of investment through the department of health and human services we have a number of [32:56] facilities in the united states that are equipped to safely treat patients with ebola as well as other [33:03] infectious diseases in the 2014 ebola crisis we established these facilities we made 160 million dollar [33:13] investment but this administration is blocking those specialized facilities from receiving americans who are [33:22] infected we have asked numerous u.s government employees and partners to put themselves in harm's [33:30] way to help us keep safe and how does the trump administration repay them by slamming the door in their [33:38] face united states spent years building the relationships supply chains laboratories and community health networks [33:48] that help stop deadly diseases at their source the trump administration tore apart that capacity and [33:55] now the consequences were unforeseeable they were not they prepared for failure and now it is here congress and the american [34:10] people deserve answers secretary rubio thank you for taking the time to appear before this committee today [34:19] look forward to hearing your testimony and getting some answers to our questions i thank you and i yield back [34:26] i thank the ranking member secretary rubio your full written statement will be placed in the record [34:31] as you know please feel free to summarize your testimony and again thank you for being here you're not [34:36] recognized sir thank you thanks for having me here today um i think i'm going to skip the long [34:41] opening you have it in writing i'll just do a couple brief points rather spend the time on your questions [34:45] it'll probably be a better use of our time just suffice it to say what i told you a year ago and getting [34:50] back to that point now a couple things the the in terms of u.s foreign policy and now they're committing [35:06] another genocide in lebanon and what are you doing all right the the core of our is that can continue [35:20] now all right mr secretary of our foreign policy must always be the national interest of the united [35:25] states that is basically defining what that national interest is and then operationalizing it in such a [35:31] way that our foreign policy reflects it this is across the board in the work of diplomacy and the place in [35:36] which we and that requires prioritization by the way it requires us to prioritize some parts of the [35:41] world over other parts of the world some issues over other issues that's just the reality of limited [35:47] resources in every country in the world has limited resources including in the united states despite our [35:53] vast resources the second is in terms of how we procure aid and how we provide it we are still the world's [35:59] largest aid provider and i mean by far like there isn't a close second but we don't want aid to solely be [36:06] judged by how much you spend we want it to be judged by what its results are and i think we can talk about [36:11] it today but there are a couple points that i would raise that i think are very promising the first is [36:16] we've now entered in the global health strategy over 32 health compacts with countries around the world [36:24] and these health compacts basically are the countries that are signing them love it not just because [36:30] they're getting the resources but because we're investing in their domestic resources and in [36:36] essence we are trying to lay the groundwork in many of these countries where one day they will [36:41] no longer need foreign aid because they will be able to sustain it we're helping build the internal [36:46] infrastructure other than as opposed to relying on extensive ngos and things of this nature in the [36:54] long term we want them to build their own domestic capacity we'll help them and they're very happy because [36:59] it also gives them sovereignty over the way some of their aid is being dispersed in those countries [37:05] likewise with humanitarian assistance one of the great success stories of the last year is we are able [37:12] in the time of disaster to respond faster than we were responding under previous administrations and [37:17] organizations and with much more effectively jamaica is a great example they had a hurricane in the [37:22] caribbean jamaica was heavily impacted we were able to respond very quickly and very effectively the same has [37:27] been the case in a couple of typhoons and we're doing it now with ebola we were able to program [37:32] upwards of over 200 million dollars very quickly in responding to it down to the point of being able [37:38] to even through diplomatic means establish a facility in kenya for any americans that are infected as an [37:44] observation post for americans if someone's infected with ebola they will be transferred to a [37:49] facility that could care for them if they're not infected after the observation period they'll be able to [37:54] return to the united states or wherever it is they're traveling to but we've also provided [37:58] assistance to the individual or partners that we have at the un and in other places and providing [38:03] aid immediately so i would say that today foreign aid has become more nimble more responsive it's [38:08] operating faster because of some of the flexibility that you've given us to respond but also more [38:14] creative and that's particularly true in the global health strategy we can talk more in depth later [38:19] on about some of the the the arrangements that we've made uh with international organizations as [38:25] an example the global fund and our ability to meet our commitments to them we've worked very closely [38:30] with them they're very very happy with the way we've outlined our contributions to the global fund i [38:35] think there's a statement today from the u.n and ocha on the work that we've done with them and the ability [38:40] to provide them the funds and resources necessary to carry out their mission so i would just say that i feel [38:45] like while it is still ongoing and there's only always a process i feel like we have made dramatic [38:50] improvements in the way american foreign assistance is delivered across the world but we're able to [38:55] do it now not just in a targeted way but in a more effective way in which the it's not simply being [39:01] judged by how much money you're spending it's being judged by what results are you getting from it [39:07] and uh there'll be more to talk about in the field of pepfar and otherwise if you want to ask about [39:11] those and now i'll find a way to work it in but i don't want to take any more time i want to get to your [39:15] questions so thanks for having me well thank you mr secretary um and for the members i'll call [39:19] on members based on seniority of those present when the hearing was called to order and as always going [39:26] alternating between each side each member will have five minutes for questions and responses i [39:31] anticipate that we'll have enough time for two rounds so let me begin mr secretary secretary if a [39:39] country uh is a u.s designated state sponsor of terrorism and and ordered its air force to shoot [39:48] down unarmed u.s civilian aircraft in international waters and kidnapped and held hostage a u.s humanitarian [39:55] aid worker and harbor terrorists and fugitives from u.s justice and closely is allied allies with another [40:05] state sponsor of terrorism which is iran and provided intelligence and security support to [40:12] the narco trafficking anti-american maludo regime in venezuela and was found smuggling hundreds of tons [40:20] of weapons material to north korea and repeatedly welcomes russian spy and warships and encourages [40:30] thousands of their nationals to deploy to russia to fight on russia's side in ukraine and is currently [40:37] giving china access to spy spy facilities with signal and intelligence capabilities and furthermore [40:45] orchestrates an extensive espionage network against the united states and has over 300 military drones [40:52] within reach of u.s territory including u.s military installations and nuclear facilities would [40:59] you consider a country like that as a threat to the national security interests of the united states [41:05] yeah and i think you're describing cuba and that's absolutely the case but i think you one more [41:10] point i would make is all of these violent marxist left-wing you know radical terrorist groups that [41:17] operate in many countries have destabilized colombia for example for years and others all found their [41:21] seed money from cuba as well they sponsored these groups all around the region and part of the region is [41:26] still playing the price for the for the rise of those groups uh particularly you know the the the [41:32] farc elements that have now spun off and and are actually uh carrying out violence as we speak in [41:37] colombia yeah and and i hear that from heads of state throughout lat america uh the impact that that [41:42] regime continues to have the threat to their security to democracies and to our national security let me [41:48] shift again also the western hemisphere uh on venezuela um you know we know what happened this this [41:55] fugitive of u.s law is now uh in a in in here in u.s custody uh and and that we thank uh the [42:02] secretary uh you and the secretary of war and in particular the president for his leadership on that [42:08] you have laid out what i believe is a clear three-phase plan for venezuela stability first and then [42:15] recovery and then uh transition where are we in on that process in that process and are we still on track [42:24] yeah first first i think it's important to remind i think tomorrow will mark the five [42:29] month i know three years ago seven years ago five months ago that's how long we've been into this [42:36] process so let me say venezuela is not today where we hope it will be for the people of venezuela's sake [42:43] but it is on a trajectory that i think is a very positive one if it continues and it has to continue [42:48] as you said our first uh priority was stabilization we did not want us to pay for things like salaries [42:55] and to buy medical equipment and and things that are beneficial to the people not being pilfered and [43:00] used as side hustles to help you know cronies obviously more work remains to be done ultimately [43:06] and and other things that need to happen ultimately the answer in venezuela is a free and fair democratic [43:11] election because because it's not just the right thing it also is necessary in order for them to be [43:17] able to attract the kind of investment that they want in order for it to be a long-term and investable [43:21] place that can attract the kind of capital and interest and normalize the way their economy works [43:26] they will need to have a government that is legitimately in place through elections but you [43:30] have to create the conditions for that those conditions include free and open media we've seen [43:34] independent journalism operating again in venezuela that's been a positive you need to give space and [43:38] time for political parties to organize and prepare them position themselves to participate in those [43:43] elections you need a new electoral council because they're the ones that are going to be counting the [43:47] votes and ensuring that the vote is legitimate all that work is ongoing there are multiple areas of [43:52] cooperation with the interim authority some of which are not publicly discussed in the proper setting [43:58] we could that have been very positive and uh and i also think for talking about diplomacy we now have [44:04] an embassy open there with with with americans on the ground every single day interacting with the [44:09] business community with american businesses that are interested in coming in with members of the interim [44:14] government and also members of the opposition so i think we're making good progress we're not where [44:19] we need to be but we're only five months in and i think it's important to remember that because this [44:24] will take some time we're dealing with 16 18 years of uh of a system and you take reversing that [44:31] responsibly will take some time but we're moving in that direction i think in a good pace thank you mr [44:36] secretary the ranking member your recognize first just very quickly i you know i i iran's proxies [44:49] have have been the cause of so much human suffering not just in israel but around the world that of [44:56] course hamas was responsible for attack on israel we see hezbollah shooting rockets into israel but [45:03] other parts of the world question is are billions of dollars are any funding going to go back to iran [45:14] so that they can resume to fund their proxies as a result of the deal that you are talking about [45:22] well first of all the deal that we are talking about are the deal that you've seen reported in [45:27] the media is a dynamic situation because the first thing the first sort of what needs to happen at the [45:31] front end is they want us to lift our blockade so they can get their ships to market that isn't going [45:36] to happen unless they open the straits so that's the first thing the second thing that has to happen [45:41] related to the first is they have to agree to enter into negotiations that are on very specific [45:46] topics which they have not been willing to do in the past number one they have to agree to negotiate [45:50] on the issue of no enrichment number two is they have to be willing to agree to dispose of i don't [45:55] mean no but it's going to get to your point i promise please okay the second thing is that that [45:59] they have to agree on the issue of the the highly enriched uranium now what you're asking about is [46:03] what about sanctions relief or frozen funds and assets so let's begin by saying that this regime [46:08] as you have rightfully pointed out even despite sanctions even despite all the pressure have [46:13] found a way to funnel money and resources to these proxy groups what's being discussed is what do they [46:20] get in exchange what nuclear sanctions that have been on them do they get in exchange for compliance for [46:26] the reason if they comply with the reasons why those sanctions were put in in the first place all of [46:31] that will be condition based meaning no there's not going to be some sort of advanced signing bonus [46:35] or good faith from i mean really my question is is is the administration contemplating returning [46:43] money to iran so that they can continue to fund these proxies all that are that are hurting millions [46:54] of people yeah well if the money is going to fund the proxies then it won't be returned to them obviously [46:59] i think the question you're really asking is what concessions are you willing to make in a [47:03] negotiation there are specific sanctions some of them are congressional some of them are un and some [47:08] of them are from the executive branch but there are specific sanctions that are in place related [47:14] directly to their nuclear program all right let me just that's why they were put in place in the first [47:18] place let me we're taking back my time i would just say this i would urge this administration not to [47:25] give money to iran to continue the work of their proxies but let me move right on because i want [47:34] to i want to talk to you about what's actually happening at the state department uh usid uh was [47:42] dismantled they did so much of the development work humanitarian work around around this world [47:48] uh the we you told us that the regional bureaus and embassies uh were going to do the work uh we [48:03] we have sent directives from congress uh to to the state department and uh for example millions for [48:12] education for agricultural capacity for water and sanitation how would these our directives [48:22] getting to uh these regional bureaus and to the diplomats and when you only when you have a [48:28] hundred missing hundreds plus missing diplomats who's getting our directives and what are they [48:34] doing with them well first of all we're not i think a hundred something missing we're saying is the [48:38] unfilled ambassadorial posts but if everyone every mission of the united states is is staffed if they [48:43] don't have a senate confirmed ambassador and we'd prefer to have senate confirmed ambassadors now as you know [48:48] there's a process for doing that some of it's you know we've i think we've only gotten like 100 [48:52] something nominees and state department through the senate um and and some that i think we need to [48:57] pick up the pace in terms of appointing people to some of these posts and believe me i want that to [49:02] happen but i don't nominate them so we have to work with the white house to get those names out there now [49:06] on your fundamental question is what is the role the embassies and regionals bureau play i think the [49:11] answer to that question is can be found again i want to harken back to these global health mous with [49:18] 32 countries which is a conglomerate of different aid programs that are involved in helping with with [49:24] health and and could include water projects we these are often negotiated directly out of the embassy [49:31] with personnel that are on the ground that are laying the groundwork to do it the other things the [49:35] embassies do is they help us identify the areas that would have the highest impact at the best [49:40] efficient cost in these individual countries just sorry to interrupt you but what what i'm worried [49:47] about what a lot of us worry about is is the lack of expertise the expertise so the your people in the [49:57] in the various countries even know what to do what has happened to that so there were thousands of [50:02] people people fired i mean how do we know that in each of these countries you have someone there yeah who [50:11] knows how to fix a water system or well first of all i think that we would ideally do in every one [50:18] of these cases that we would be partnering with the local government with the with the domestic [50:22] government with our host nation to ensure that we're relying to do this work and our job it depends [50:29] on the country and that's the unique part of the way approaches you could do a bucket and you can say [50:34] this is money for x and it has to work exactly the same all over the world or you could do it the way [50:39] we're doing which is understanding that a health mou with one country maybe look very different than [50:44] what a health mou looks like in another country and then we would have to hire or add depending on the [50:49] contract whether it's an international partner or others if necessary the expertise for implementation [50:54] but the the key to the front end of it is identifying what those unique opportunities are [50:59] because i can tell you going through the 32 mous they are all different and i i'm mr secretary i can [51:05] tell you this that because of whatever the lag time the the lack of expertise right now there are [51:12] there are literally thousands of thousands of people dying i'm gonna i know there's no i don't [51:16] it by the way i just don't agree with that okay i just uh mr just one question and we'll have another [51:22] round okay one more thing this is very important all right we have she's a floridian i'm gonna have to [51:28] give her we have heard first of all this country right now has a has a immigration policy which is an [51:40] an abomination we're taking innocent people who have committed no crimes off the street and we are [51:47] sending them to countries some of them that they have no connection to and we are hearing that the state [51:56] department is out there making deals with foreign countries and saying you if you want [52:03] to get the melt development funds or health care or humanitarian funds you must take x amount amount [52:12] of deportes and mr secretary you're gonna have to answer that relatively quickly because we're way past [52:19] time i don't know where you've heard that from we have certainly negotiated third country agreements with [52:24] multiple countries around the world but none of them are under threat in some cases for example [52:29] they have said well we'll do this for you as a but we will do but we have some costs associated with [52:35] assuming this responsibility and we provided them funds to deal with that but i can't recall the [52:41] single instance i don't know where you're who's reporting this to you where we're basically threatening [52:45] a country that we're gonna never deal with them again if they don't help us but obviously we are [52:50] friendly and help but this is the way diplomacy should work honestly let's be frank we are going [52:54] to reward those that are good to the united states we're not going to be as friendly to places that [52:59] are not furthering our national interest for a long time this has been going on we there are countries [53:04] around the world we were spending millions and millions of dollars and they vote with us against [53:09] us 99 of the time at the un and all the commercial contracts are with china but yet we're funding their [53:14] entire health care system look i think that's a legitimate thing to say hold on a second does this make [53:18] sense all right let's let's move on and we've we've given the ranking member because she is the ranking [53:24] member and she's uh my friend and partner way over time and thank you mr secretary for uh indulgence [53:33] uh speaking of now the vice chairman of the subcommittee is uh recognized mr edwards thank you mr [53:40] chairman uh mr secretary thank you so much for being with us i recall when you were with us about [53:46] a year ago you talked about the new focus of the united states state department i i want you to know [53:55] that i was privileged to participate last week in the codel led by the esteemed chairman diaz bellart to [54:04] south america and had the opportunity to witness how effective and how targeted our foreign assistance [54:16] is being used to in your words to further the interest of america it was so incredibly obvious uh through [54:26] the empowerment of the ambassadors that i was able to meet there through the sense of uh respect that [54:36] those ambassadors carried along with the uh the not only the empowerment that they had but the sense [54:45] of respect that they had from the people in those countries almost to the same level as their very own [54:52] heads of state and it was so heartening to see your words put into action in in in those countries it's [55:01] truly working we saw evidence that narco terrorism is being eliminated we're saving lives here in america [55:10] because of that it was obvious that the influence of china is being diminished and that uh the united states is being [55:24] so much more recognized as uh not only a military and economic strength but as that soft power that i continue [55:34] to hear members here on this panel speak of and so uh i i just commend you and the administration for the work [55:44] that you're doing i got to witness it firsthand and i appreciate the chairman uh lead leading such a [55:52] distinguished codel to uh to uh to let us see and learn those things one of the things that you spoke [56:00] about a year a year ago was recognizing america's humanitarian responsibility in countries like this [56:12] and and i've had a number of uh organizations the ngos that are charged with administering humanitarian [56:23] assistance uh it talk to me about concerns with the predictability of the [56:32] uh funding that uh this committee has appropriated and uh i i think you can probably agree it's [56:42] necessary for them to be able to predict when that funding will come available so that they can plan [56:48] human uh resources so they can uh plan on supply lines and and that sort of thing what [56:56] advice can you give this this this this committee and those folks that are [57:04] charged to implement the humanitarian needs on how we can work better with the state department [57:14] on that predictability well first of all it's unless i know the specific programs are kind [57:19] it's a little bit harder to opine in general on what you've outlined other than to say that [57:25] i think what they'll find certainly over time is that their ability to get answers will be much quicker [57:30] now we still have an obligation and a due diligence requirement and any contract we award any grant [57:35] any monies we obligate we have to make sure the money's being spent on what it's supposed to be [57:40] spent on we have to make sure that it's being dispersed at an appropriate rate and that we're [57:44] getting and that we're getting a result for it so i think what they'll find over time is that the [57:48] system that is managing this for them now will be a lot less byzantine a lot less bureaucratic [57:53] they may not always get the answer they want on some of these programs but they will get their [57:57] answer faster our ability to deploy and to partner with an ngo and in case of a humanitarian crisis [58:02] is an example right now with ebola i mean that is something that has required us to ramp up [58:07] opportunities to keep it you know constrained and ultimately to help deal with it and it we have [58:12] partnered with samaritan's purse we have partnered with some others who are involved and some [58:16] international organizations as well and our ability to deploy and quickly provide the funding for [58:21] that more on a more of a sort of an acute event as opposed to a chronic one is is is better than [58:29] it used to be we are responding much faster than it was in the traditional system and the more legacy [58:34] projects i think what they'll find over time is once this becomes systemized year and then they'll [58:39] become more familiar with our systems and they'll be and they'll they'll find that that um that that uh [58:46] that certainty that they need in terms of planning and so forth but i would just say can we'll continue [58:51] to communicate with your offices on specific programs as we've done throughout the year when [58:54] people raise one with me and say this specific contractor oftentimes what you'll find is because [59:00] the system is new they still haven't figured out how to work through it once we can resolve that it [59:05] becomes more systemized for both sides thank you and i look forward to uh to working with your department [59:11] in order to do that great thank you thank you just just a note that on this side we've been on time [59:17] but i'm not complaining um the ranking member of the full committee is a privilege to recognize you [59:23] thanks for not complaining mr chair uh mr secretary nearly 60 percent of americans disapprove of [59:32] president trump's illegal war of choice with iran the war has led to skyrocketing fuel costs for americans [59:38] needless deaths of american service members while failing to achieve any of the stated aims of the war [59:44] in the meantime it seems that the trump administration seems to have forgotten all about the crisis in [59:50] gaza nearly eight months after it was signed the administration's 20-point plant peace plan stands [59:57] largely unfilled i have it right here it looks like there are a four and five have been accomplished [1:00:04] and the rest have not been accomplished here most palestinians in gaza are sheltering in overcrowded [1:00:11] uh tents pests and rodents spreading disease health services remain limited israeli military strikes [1:00:20] have escalated despite the ceasefire pushing the total death toll to nearly 73 000. late late last week [1:00:30] prime minister netanyahu ordered the idea to see to see 70 percent of gaza in complete violation of the [1:00:41] ceasefire agreement mr secretary the state department must take the lead for the u.s implementing the [1:00:48] president's 20-point plan what is the status of the implementation what progress should we expect to [1:00:56] see the next few weeks what is your response to prime minister netanyahu's directive you know on gaza yes [1:01:05] yes okay so well because you started out talking about iran so let me just first let me just say i i [1:01:12] disagree i said that in the meantime the trump administration seems to have forgotten about [1:01:16] the crisis in gaza no no one's forgotten about it i think luckily there's not active combat operations [1:01:22] happening of the kind that we saw a few months ago but it's still a challenge that we're going to work [1:01:26] through i just wanted to correct the record for a second you said we had not achieved our stated aim [1:01:31] and i know you went through it in your opening statement if you don't mind i have a limited time [1:01:35] for questioning mr secretary no but you gave a question introduction and then i can answer some [1:01:40] of these things well i want to get to gaza i want to get to the 20 point plan which is what my question [1:01:46] is is about implementing the 20 point plan what is the status of implementation what progress do we see [1:01:53] in the next few weeks what is your response to prime minister netanyahu's directive on the on let me [1:02:01] first start with the status we are now at a phase where we should be having or want to have an [1:02:05] international stabilization force that goes in and provides the security this requires the [1:02:10] demilitarization of hamas which right now they have not been willing to meet the conditions necessary [1:02:15] by the way it's not just the united states that's complaining about it many of our partners in the [1:02:19] region are pressuring hamas to enter the demilitarization phase so there would be will be no [1:02:25] progress with the 20 point plan unless there is a demilitarized hamas well there are other elements [1:02:30] of the 20 point plan that are ongoing as an example the plan for reconstruction and economic [1:02:35] development and the donors that are coming forward to fund it that continues to move forward and [1:02:38] develop it's just you can't implement it no one's going to invest money in hamas in in gaza until [1:02:44] hamas is demilitarized because they know there's going to be another war 20 point these 20 points [1:02:48] were to be moving i i would think and moving along with various uh phases of implementation as we go [1:02:57] along here in terms of uh also humanitarian aid um uh it it is all laid out but as i said there are only [1:03:06] two that have been uh apparently implemented that is what 72 hours of the hostages will will be released [1:03:15] so netanyahu's directive idf sees 70 percent of gaza just just your view because i need to move on yeah [1:03:25] our view of it is i i haven't i think those comments he made last week in an appearance that [1:03:29] he did somewhere we have a plan it doesn't call for that and at the end of the day we understand [1:03:34] that what we want and i think what the israelis would ultimately want is a gaza that is governed [1:03:39] by a non-hamas so you have no opinion on on the idf seizing 70 percent well he's he made that statement [1:03:46] but that's not part of this plan this plan doesn't call for that what this plan calls for and it's what [1:03:50] we're committed to carrying out is that but there has been no implementation of the plan well that [1:03:55] the people of gaza are government let me just technocratic palestinian government a palestinian [1:03:59] please mr secretary no but you're asking me questions you're not letting me answer yes you [1:04:05] are answering that no you're not answering them because you don't have answers um don't let me let [1:04:10] me let me just say this and first of all you talked earlier in your comments about humanitarian [1:04:15] assistance and how quickly it's going out quite frankly um that hasn't really happened uh in gaza [1:04:21] uh commercial not just commercial of of humanitarian aid going in let me just talk about [1:04:27] that's for humanitarian assistance that's a false statement we spent hundreds of millions [1:04:32] of dollars in humanitarian aid in gaza already and that includes through the world food program [1:04:37] and other organizations you know i've talked to cindy mccain at world food about the situation the [1:04:42] humanitarian crisis in gaza so have i the food and hunger and it's not there it's not there let me just [1:04:50] continue on humanitarian situation ghana's gaza worsens at the same time the israeli government [1:04:58] has ramped up its pursuit of a de facto annexation of the west bank oslo accords have been torn up [1:05:06] demolition orders for palestinian villages are on the rock incidents of settler violence have surged [1:05:13] with no accountability and the construction of settlements and outposts continues at a rapid speed [1:05:20] from may 12th to may 18th palestinians faced more than 50 attacks by settlers across the west bank [1:05:27] including arson attacks that damaged a mosque homes farmland and vehicles the u.n office for coordination [1:05:35] of humanitarian affairs has documented an average of six such attacks per day the israeli government has [1:05:43] begun proceedings to demolish the palestinian community of khan al-amar just east of [1:05:50] jerusalem as part of its goal of constructing settlements along the e1 corridor which would [1:05:56] bisect the west bank foreclose the possibility of a continuous palestinian state the secretary [1:06:04] do you believe that the situation in the west bank is one that leads to greater cooperation between [1:06:10] israelis and palestinians or will create conditions for a two-state solution and promote israel's two-state [1:06:18] solution in my view will promote israel's long-term as the president has stated clearly and repeatedly [1:06:24] he is not in favor of these changes or the changes in the status in the west bank that it [1:06:29] potentially complicates our ability to work out the deal in gaza as well and the president's been [1:06:33] consistent he has said this multiple times and we've shared that with our israeli counterparts as [1:06:37] well thank you and what are we doing to deal with settler violence we will we will do that if [1:06:42] that's all right we'll do that in the second round thank you very much thank you thank you [1:06:46] thank you remember um mr molinar who's also the uh the the chairman of the select uh committee on the [1:06:53] ccp was recognized thank you mr chairman uh secretary rubio thanks for being with us today and [1:06:59] uh thank you for uh the important work you're doing around the world and for the sacrifice you and [1:07:04] your family are making in order to do that uh we appreciate it uh also i just want to say uh my apologies [1:07:12] for the young gentleman from the ccp funded code pink uh who interrupted your opening statement um [1:07:20] i want to go right into some questions about the ccp um i wonder if you could characterize china's [1:07:29] support for iran uh military or otherwise okay well that's an it's a important question i think let [1:07:39] me start with this point i don't think the the chinese have publicly said and repeatedly said and [1:07:43] told us in our visit as well they are not in favor of what iran is doing in the straits they they are [1:07:49] opposed to that as is virtually every country in the world some obviously more open than others [1:07:54] but but they've stayed at that point i would say that china has not provided any assistance to iran [1:08:03] in any way impeded our operations or ability to operate they clearly have had a previous relationship [1:08:09] and you can see that in some of the military equipment that they have is certainly of chinese [1:08:13] origin and likewise but we have seen no signs in the short term that they and during this situation [1:08:20] that anything they've been providing them has in any way changed the dynamic in the battlefield and i [1:08:25] think they've been quite cautious about engaging themselves in it that said we would like to see [1:08:30] their help at the united nations we have a resolution right now it has the highest number of co-sponsors [1:08:34] of any resolution ever proposed before the security council that would you know create authorities to [1:08:40] deal with the with what's happening in the straits and um unfortunately the chinese continue to [1:08:46] threaten the veto of it so if in fact they are against the closure of the straits they should be [1:08:51] endorsing this at a minimum abstaining and not using a veto of it the russians are another matter of [1:08:56] course they're vehemently opposed to that resolution for a variety of different reasons but but um [1:09:02] um i would say that as time goes on the chinese economy will begin to be negatively impacted by [1:09:10] what the iranians are doing for two reasons the first is because the concept of a tolling system [1:09:16] sounds intriguing the reality of it is very hard to implement and in fact you saw a chinese destined [1:09:22] vessel attacked and hit two weeks ago by the iranians and the second is because if you as con in it for a [1:09:30] export driven economy like china to have countries around the world ability to purchase diminish as [1:09:37] more of that goes towards fuel that will begin to have an impact on their exports as well so i think [1:09:42] china in the short to long term has should have and we've made this point to the chinese have a vested [1:09:47] interest as well in ensuring that iran stop its activity thank you uh there was a media report [1:09:54] recently that iran may have used a chinese missile to shoot down a u.s fighter jet are you familiar with [1:10:01] that report that report i can't comment on the specific technology that they use suffice it to [1:10:06] say that look they do own chinese systems they own some russian systems and they've developed some [1:10:10] native systems especially in the drone technology um and um but i don't know specifically about i mean [1:10:16] i'd have to refer you to the department of war i would i would hate to comment on something and give [1:10:19] you a misleading answer thank you uh during the recent china summit i was thankful president trump raised the [1:10:27] issue of china's prisoners of conscience and president indicated that xi xingping is seriously [1:10:34] considering uh the release of pastor ezra jin and i know this is something you care deeply about [1:10:41] have there been any tangible follow-ups or indications regarding this case or others like jimmy [1:10:47] lie since the summit well first of all jimmy lie the president's raised it twice he raised it once when [1:10:54] we met in south korea um late last year october whenever that was raised it again during this [1:10:59] visit uh pastor jin is obviously a more recent case and it was also raised in the meeting and i don't [1:11:05] want to do anything to jeopardize his status or what's working other than to say that you know i'm [1:11:10] cautiously optimistic that we could potentially find a positive resolution to his case um and that [1:11:16] those talks and that communication is ongoing but sometimes with these things they work better when [1:11:20] they just happen and so i don't want to say anything publicly that could undermine or harm that effort [1:11:25] in any way but be clear that we have raised that and it is a priority for us thank you um as you know [1:11:31] in michigan we're proud to have a large chaldean community many of whom are still having deep family [1:11:38] and religious ties to iraq iraq's christian communities uh particularly chaldean christians have [1:11:44] faced years of displaced displacement economic hardship security threats in the ninawa plain and surrounding [1:11:50] areas how is the administration supporting religious minorities including iraq's chaldean community [1:11:58] well as you know they're just recently forming a new government with a new prime minister and uh and [1:12:04] so i think the fundamental challenge in iraq has been and continues to be what level of influence [1:12:09] do the iranian-backed shia militias have inside the country over the government and in fact we we faced [1:12:14] that that situation very dramatically during epic fury when in fact there were launches occurring [1:12:21] against our facilities both in in baghdad and in erbil so it would be raised within the context [1:12:28] of our relationship with the new prime minister we want to give him a chance to be successful but we [1:12:32] also want to give him a chance to be responsive to the issues that we've raised including the issues [1:12:38] just outlined about you know unfortunately a much smaller christian community than it was there 25 30 40 [1:12:43] years ago but still nonetheless facing very difficult circumstances obviously we also want to see a [1:12:49] government that's less under the domain or control um of of these iranian-backed militias who still [1:12:55] remain very powerful in the country so those have been the leading features but we're going to give [1:12:59] this new prime minister a chance we're willing to do things that are helpful to him but obviously we have [1:13:04] things that we're concerned about primarily the iranian shia militias and the influence they have and the [1:13:08] danger they pose to the region and to the country but related to that is the issue you raised and that is [1:13:14] these minority communities inside of iraq uh who have faced oppression now for the better part of [1:13:18] you know 20 years and uh and and have seen their numbers in areas diminish as that more and more [1:13:23] people have left the region but it is a priority and we do raise it because we think it's important [1:13:27] for a sort of a diverse nation like iraq for every segment of society to them but also places that give [1:13:33] more options to have not just representation but to feel sense to these individuals that they would be [1:13:39] comfortable safe and respected inside the country it is a feature we're going to so we are very [1:13:43] actively engaged of our talks with them thank you and this is you know we have a lot of capitol hill [1:13:49] engagement thank you mr chairman thank you miss ming on this issue from both sides of the aisle it's a [1:13:54] priority you recognize for a lot of people and uh we don't want to see thank you mr secretary uh for [1:14:01] being here is situation where any of them are being forced back as the daughter of immigrants i'm into [1:14:07] afghanistan because that's just clearly not an option i'm so proud to represent queens new york for [1:14:12] some of them uh the the case of uh the world's borough and a strong community uh relatives of of of [1:14:19] of of immigrants and refugees including american citizens uh i think is uh being a large afghan [1:14:25] community even is a separate case in the sense that they even though we promise them safety in exchange [1:14:31] for risk have ties to the united states and so that process scheme their lives for our country the [1:14:36] processing is still ongoing in terms of the applications the background checks and the [1:14:40] vetting and so forth um we're obviously operating right now under a directive that prohibits the [1:14:45] entry of afghans into the united states uh but um that could change at some point and that that we'll [1:14:51] be able to facilitate some of those but but that that that issue right now is we're just trying to [1:14:55] find more countries that will step forward and being able to assume in some cases it might be 200 [1:15:00] in some cases they might be able to take 150 300 but give them some options other than just those two [1:15:05] that you've just outlined can you rule out third country options especially drc you mentioned [1:15:12] earlier that the state department won't support people to to conflict zones can you rule that out [1:15:18] going forward you mean rule out the drc yes well ultimately these people would have to they would [1:15:23] have to agree that they're going to go to drc as well because that's what we want to do is give [1:15:27] them seven or eight options rather than one or two and i imagine that we can find more options for [1:15:32] them and there are some countries look i think the problem is it's not that i'm trying to i mean [1:15:36] we could probably talk to your staff about it um a lot of these countries are in nascent talks with [1:15:40] us about their willingness to assume some of these people but they don't want me announcing it at [1:15:45] a hearing because then they have you know newspaper and media going crazy in their country [1:15:49] about what does this all mean but i can tell you that we are i know of at least five other [1:15:54] countries that we have spoken to that seem at least open to the idea of assuming some number [1:15:58] of these refugees we'd like to get these people more than just five options maybe five or six or [1:16:04] seven are they conflict zones can we rule out deporting people to conflict zones well i don't [1:16:10] remember all five or six of them but i don't think that any of them would be conflict zones is my [1:16:14] recollection um thank you at the same time we are stranding our afghan allies we are rolling out the red [1:16:22] carpet for white africaners from south africa even though we've completely stopped resettlement [1:16:29] of other vetted refugees the president recently approved 17 500 spots for africaners and none for [1:16:38] any other refugee from anywhere else in the world can i ask what your standards and justification for [1:16:46] issuing only refugee slots for them well first of all the united states over the last four years [1:16:51] before the president returned to office assumed upwards of 15 to 20 million people that entered [1:16:56] our country through a variety of methods so our immigration policies must always ultimately be [1:17:01] geared by by the national interest of the united states and in an era where we're already dealing [1:17:05] with 15 to 20 million people that have entered the country in a mass migration event in such a short [1:17:09] period of time adding to that number in the short term would make no sense in our view from the national [1:17:15] interest hence the freeze on refugee admission the case you point to is a very specific one [1:17:20] probably a time-limited one and that is we have gauged that there is real interest from a unique [1:17:25] subset of who would be interested to coming in the united states and who we assess have a high likelihood [1:17:32] of rapid assimilation and success in our society and hence this program was created now i that's not [1:17:38] a program that's going to exist in perpetuity it's a program that's designed to the fact that we are [1:17:42] seeing the demand we are seeing applications from south africa of people willing to enter the united states [1:17:48] and we think this is a group of potential refugees so our afghan allies are refugees they have been [1:17:56] vetted 1100 versus this new 17 000. but it's more than just vetting we're also trying to determine [1:18:03] against the immigration policy united states like everything we do has to be geared by the national [1:18:08] interest and it is in our national interest if we are allowing people in our country be people that [1:18:13] can quickly assimilate into society and be successful why can't they assimilate into society [1:18:19] a background check i've been to their centers in my district in queen well they have assimilated [1:18:24] and contribute and pay taxes yeah but we've already assumed a lot of afghan refugees as you said you [1:18:30] have them in your district we've already assumed a large number in the past the point is that the [1:18:36] the general policy has been to limit the entry of refugees from all over the world and then to create [1:18:41] the special track because of a unique circumstance in the short term of a high demand from a number [1:18:47] of immigrants that we have determined if they pass the vetting and the checking we very quickly [1:18:51] assimilate and contribute to our society that's what our by the way that's what our immigration [1:18:55] policy should always be about is what's good for the country i think it's important for america to keep [1:19:00] our promise as well in the interest of national security our our word to our global allies to people [1:19:08] who we made a promise to we 1100 versus 17 000 1100 vetted allies who already helped this country i [1:19:20] think they should be given consideration and not sent to conflict zones and i think i don't know if [1:19:25] the secretary you want to and you've already answered do you want to say anything else no i mean [1:19:30] we talked about the point and the decision that was made yeah mr alford you recognize her well thank you [1:19:38] chair thank you ranking member and the ranker for our full committee i do want to recognize you [1:19:43] mr chairman for the great work that you've done to help rein in the spending while still protecting [1:19:49] america's national security interest around the world last year chairman diaz will art delivered [1:19:54] a 16 percent reduction from fiscal year 25 i've enacted levels nearly 9.3 billion dollars in savings [1:20:01] without compromising support of our closest allies are weakening our posture on the world stage [1:20:08] this fiscal year the committee built on that success with an additional six percent reduction [1:20:12] cutting another 2.69 billion dollars while still maintaining robust funding for israel taiwan jordan [1:20:20] egypt and critical indo-pacific security programs these reductions mr secretary are only possible [1:20:27] because of you and your leadership which has forced partner nations to shoulder more of the burden [1:20:33] and make sure that american taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for countries that refuse to meet their [1:20:38] obligations and that really aren't on our side to begin with and so i salute you sir there is a lot [1:20:45] of noise in this world there's noise out in the hallway there's noise that we've seen on the back row here [1:20:52] 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 know [1:20:56] what makes the news it's it's the clips of the loud people the code pinko people they want to disrupt [1:21:04] and yell hateful hateful things to you sir but i want you to know that the vast majority of americans [1:21:12] have a lot of respect for you have a lot of appreciation for what you're doing you are a [1:21:19] stalwart a resolute rudder in a sea of chaos and i just want you to know that we appreciate that thank [1:21:26] you for the job that you're doing and i do want to talk about cuba chairman ds blart brought this up [1:21:34] um is is cuba a threat and how big of a threat is cuba to the united states of america well i think [1:21:40] the fundamental threat is that they are a um first of all thanks for your nice comments i wish they [1:21:45] should give you more time too uh i would say that cuba is two two things about cuba number one is it's [1:21:51] a failed state i mean it really is i mean the model that they have economic will never work and and and [1:21:56] it will never work because the country's no longer even controlled by the government there i mean the [1:22:00] people are under the control of the government but the country's under the control of a private [1:22:04] i say private a military controlled conglomerate that controls about 70 percent of the gdp of the [1:22:10] country none sitting on 18 billion dollars in assets none of that money transfers over to the [1:22:16] treasury or to the or to be helpful to the cuban people anyway meanwhile they have power plants that [1:22:21] have been failing because of years and years and years of chronic mismanagement and lack of investment [1:22:26] so on the one hand you have a country that doesn't have money to buy fuel and on the other hand they [1:22:31] have you have a country that uh that is sitting on a military conglomerate that has 18 billion dollars [1:22:36] in assets and none of it transfers over to the cuban people a lot of people don't realize it and [1:22:40] they're accountable to no one they are the ones in ultimate control of the country so what you have [1:22:45] now is a failing system frankly i think in the since 2001 is that 15 of the population of cuba has left [1:22:52] some to the united states many to spain or other different countries around the world uh they've lost a lot [1:22:57] of human capital as well so it's on the verge of being a failed state because of their mismanagement [1:23:01] and incompetence and the last straw was they lost free oil maduro used to give them free oil that's [1:23:06] really the biggest change since january they no longer are getting free oil and we're not in a [1:23:10] world where people are in the business of just giving away oil for free all the time so they're [1:23:13] really struggling with that as well now the second thing i would argue is they are also a base of [1:23:18] operation the chinese the russians operate intelligence collection facilities targeted at the southeastern [1:23:24] united states from the island of cuba that's well documented open source has reported on that [1:23:28] repeatedly they are a country that has long links to all of these transnational many of these [1:23:34] transnational ideologically motivated groups in in the western hemisphere if you travel extensively [1:23:39] in the western hemisphere you will find that behind every disruptive element in their society designed [1:23:44] to for example overthrow or pressure a pro-american government there is a cuban element involved [1:23:50] including through in fact many of these countries have expelled either the ambassador and or multiple [1:23:55] personnel from the cuban embassies because of their intelligence and and counter uh and subversive [1:24:01] activities inside of their country and then they have a long history of supporting actual violent [1:24:06] groups throughout the region so all of these things pose a threat to the united states because a [1:24:10] failed state that's friendly to our adversaries 90 miles from our shores that's a threat so what are we [1:24:15] going to do about it well the first thing we're trying to do about it is find a better way forward for the [1:24:20] people of cuba we've made by the way we've made offers to them in this regard we have offered to [1:24:24] distribute 100 million dollars of humanitarian aid through the catholic church and other non-governmental [1:24:29] organizations first they denied we made the offer so then we went public with it um then they said [1:24:35] they would accept it but since then have not been willing to follow up on how that distribution would [1:24:39] work we're fine with it as long as it goes to the cuban people because if you distribute it through them [1:24:44] here's what happens the products wind up on the shelves of the dollar stores controlled by [1:24:49] the conglomerate that i just outlined we know that for a fact you see the same product but we've [1:24:54] delivered humanitarian aid in cuba through this mechanism three million dollars after the hurricane [1:24:59] that went directly to the cuban people in many cases we wish we had six million destined but only [1:25:04] three million has been distributed unfortunately because they've impeded some of it and all of it marked [1:25:08] with a gift from the people of the united states so they know where it's coming from that we're offering to [1:25:13] do that we've made offers on a bunch of other things as well uh so far they've they've written [1:25:18] but ultimately i remind everybody that u.s policy towards cuba is governed by law it's statutory [1:25:25] there's statutory requirements for us to change our policies towards cuba embedded in the law and helps [1:25:30] burton the past in 1996 so um that governs that that's the official policy united states it's embedded in [1:25:38] statute so we have to stick to within those parameters as well thank you i've gone over i yield back [1:25:44] thank you sir mr siskimani you're recognized sir thank you chairman thank you secretary ruby for [1:25:48] being here with us um thank you for taking time and answering all the questions i want to take a [1:25:54] moment and start with recognizing the western passport center in my district they um they're doing an [1:26:01] incredible job i i consistently call my office does for passport issues there and they i the volume that [1:26:10] they handle is incredible and they're customer services as high as as as they could be i i visited [1:26:17] it in 2024 and just just to thank them and i want to just highlight them for you just because they're [1:26:23] they're doing such a great job so i want to start out with that light lighter note i think uh let's go [1:26:28] into a heavier topic topic here uh i want to give you also and the president tremendous credit for your [1:26:34] work to combat dangerous drug cartels and other transnational criminal networks combating international [1:26:41] crime is essential to making america safer stronger and more prosperous i want to ask you about another [1:26:46] damaging uh form of international crime which is human trafficking this issue hits close at home for [1:26:53] my constituents in arizona the department of justice has identified phoenix as one of the top human [1:26:58] trafficking jurisdictions in the country and as one of four states bordering mexico arizona is a major [1:27:05] transit point for traffickers the national human trafficking hotline has identified over 2300 cases [1:27:11] in arizona alone with more than 5000 victims identified in those cases troublingly the average age of youth [1:27:19] trafficked in arizona is 13 years old four years younger than the national average there's a strong [1:27:26] bipartisan support for the department for the state department programs to combat trafficking [1:27:32] in persons internationally so given all this what are the department's regional and or country [1:27:39] specific priorities for programs to combat trafficking in persons and how are you ensuring that these [1:27:44] programs are successfully implemented in support of the national security interests of the u.s thank you [1:27:49] obviously when we talk about human trafficking you're talking about the international element to it [1:27:53] from our perspective there's obviously a domestic issue as well that that but that's separate from [1:27:57] our involvement um a couple points these migratory routes that existed with mass migration events [1:28:02] are the same routes that are used by human trafficking so clearly when we had a border crisis we had people [1:28:07] pouring over the border we had organizations that were that were involved in trafficking of drugs [1:28:13] contraband and also people we know that and that was a big component to all of this i believe last year [1:28:18] of the number maybe i'm off by a million or two but it's about a hundred million dollars we spent a year [1:28:23] ago um on human trafficking programs and it depends on the country every country is different in some [1:28:29] cases some countries are transit zones they're not sources of human trafficking but they are a transit zone [1:28:34] where human traffickers bring people through and so oftentimes the assistance is assistance to local [1:28:40] authorities and helping to partner with us identify or if they're already advanced enough in that field [1:28:45] simply sharing intelligence and information as we gather it and pick it up in other cases the [1:28:50] assistance depending on the country is helping prevent human trafficking in essence working and [1:28:55] partnering with the local with the host government for programs that help identify potential victims of [1:29:00] human trafficking and prevent them from being trafficked before it happens that's the second um and so [1:29:06] it really is country specific and one of the reasons why it's so critical that these programs not be put in a box [1:29:10] and say here's human trafficking globally that it's a great example of how this program needs to these [1:29:17] expenditures and our focus on this needs to be specific to the location because what the human [1:29:22] trafficking issue looks like in one country might be different than another country one country may [1:29:26] just be the airport that they're flying people through and we know it another country may be the source of [1:29:31] children that are being literally purchased or bought up or grabbed off the streets and being trafficked for labor [1:29:37] purposes or worse and so that's why in every one of our embassies we have people that are in charge or [1:29:44] also supposed to be helping us to implement that program so through the regional bureau so that it [1:29:49] becomes specific enough to the individual country and whatever role they play in the human trafficking [1:29:53] whether it's transit zone or source thank you um i know we have a second round but i'll ask one more [1:30:00] i know the administration is actively engaged in discussions with israel about the future of the u.s israel [1:30:05] relationship including opportunities to further expand and deepen our strategic partnership with [1:30:10] the current memorandum of understanding on security assistance set to expire in two years this feels like [1:30:15] a real moment to think boldly about how our cooperation can evolve to meet the shared interests and security [1:30:22] needs for both of our nations with that in mind what's your current state of talks with israel on on the [1:30:27] new mou and the broader future of the relationship and who in the department is leading those conversations [1:30:35] well the conversations have been both with the department of state and the department of war and [1:30:38] actually and i think he has said this publicly now uh what prime minister netanyahu and the israelis [1:30:42] have told us is they would like to set up a scenario where they wean off u.s assistance the way they [1:30:47] did with foreign aid about a decade and a half ago so in essence they'd like to go from the number [1:30:51] they're getting now to slowly less every year until the number hits zero so those are the conversations [1:30:56] we're having with them it's at a pretty high level at this stage although i know we're engaging their ambassador [1:31:00] has been dealing with the council and chief of staff in our office on this proposal they've made [1:31:05] that proposal to us on a number of occasions over the last year i think the prime minister spoke [1:31:09] publicly about it about a few weeks ago so it's no longer a surprise but i think one of the things [1:31:14] israel is talking about is basically winding up over the next 10 years in a place where they are [1:31:19] getting no i mean they may be buying things from the u.s but they are not getting any sort of assistance [1:31:23] to the mou obviously we'll talk it through with them and see where we wind up that's not finalized [1:31:28] thank you chairman i go back thank you mr siskamani uh so again thank you mr secretary we do have time [1:31:35] for a second round but i am going to hold people to five minutes on the second round we've we've been [1:31:40] pretty flexible and uh uh but we're gonna we're gonna now limit it to five five minutes and i will [1:31:45] start that five minutes and try to hold myself mr secretary to five minutes as an example to the rest [1:31:52] i mentioned in my opening remarks and you've heard before that i just returned from a from a trip to [1:32:01] south america we saw some really positive things but we also saw some sobering things regarding [1:32:07] communist china they've spent decades embedding themselves across across the region frankly in [1:32:12] ports power infrastructure communication networks everywhere and more recently beijing has been [1:32:19] aggressively moving to lock up america's critical mineral supply uh the chains and so again i think [1:32:26] for decades we've united states have looked the other way uh or worse uh you however become to turn [1:32:32] turn this around i saw that firsthand i mean i actually saw that you've aggressively refocused state [1:32:37] department resources and attention on countering china's encroachment in our region in argentina [1:32:44] your team signed a critical minerals framework with president malay's government in february in peru [1:32:50] i saw evidence of u.s pushback and multiple ports we saw that i saw that but this subcommittee wants [1:32:57] to support these efforts which bring me to paraguay because frankly it's the counter example the whole [1:33:03] region needs to be looking at it needs to be emulating now so while neighbors have flipped to beijing [1:33:08] paraguay has chosen the united states over communist china it's held firm with taiwan for nearly 70 years [1:33:16] and posted the strongest economic growth in south america um you've met with president peña and [1:33:23] you've been directing uh state department attention towards partners who stand with us you've talked [1:33:28] about this in this hearing it's working it's really working but i think we can and should do we can and [1:33:34] should do more what do you need uh to make sure that this hemisphere continues to see and sears sees [1:33:40] clearly actually that choosing america over china actually pays off for their people and for the [1:33:47] entire region yeah i think the first thing you know as long as i was served in the senate for 16 years [1:33:53] everybody said we need to focus more on the western hemisphere just like people say you need to eat [1:33:57] more broccoli and more vegetables but no one ever wants to actually do it so i'm proud of at least over [1:34:03] the last year and a half you've seen a more sustained focused on the hemisphere and uh and it's borne fruit [1:34:09] in a couple of ways here here's the challenge the the in the region not only 20 years of negligence [1:34:16] in this regard but what chinese efforts in the region have done is twofold the first is [1:34:21] it's resource extraction so they try to establish for themselves um access to critical minerals mining [1:34:28] of any sort and give themselves these long-term contracts gain these long-term contracts and uh that [1:34:33] allow them to extract resources as they do on in africa and other parts of the world as well [1:34:38] the second is they come in with infrastructure investments key infrastructure like [1:34:42] telecommunications ports these are areas we've seen heavy investment in on their part and when i [1:34:46] say investment i i understand oftentimes these come with financing mechanisms that can cause these [1:34:52] countries to fall into a debt trap the third thing they do frankly is is uh they come in and [1:34:56] they promise to build you an amphitheater or a bridge they may not do a good job at it but now [1:35:01] you owe them money for it and then they expect your vote at the united nations and in international [1:35:05] forms as leverage and the challenge in all of this is and oftentimes a country will come to us and say [1:35:10] we want to build x or we want to expand y but the only people showing up are chinese companies [1:35:16] there are no u.s companies showing up there are no american alternatives showing up or western [1:35:21] alternatives showing up and so part of the challenge that we have is to identify and connect [1:35:26] those u.s alternatives and i'm not two i'll give you two unhappy questions i'm unhappy about this [1:35:33] uh it's about congressional directives and laws that are being ignored number one the women of the [1:35:41] world women when they have access to education capital jobs and ability to fully participate in [1:35:47] our economy they lift families that they strengthen communities they create more stable societies when [1:35:55] they have a seat at the table in governments and peace negotiations peace agreements actually last longer [1:36:01] and nations are more secure and prosperous we passed two laws you were the sponsors i think of one of them [1:36:07] women peace security act of 2017 the women's entrepreneurship and economic empowerment act of 2018 [1:36:16] and we have not been able to find anything that's being done in the state department responsible for [1:36:24] having these programs carried out and then we get this notice i am like i can't even believe it [1:36:32] from your office the administration does not have a dedicated strategy to increase engagement by [1:36:40] women and girls and democracy human rights and governance and programs this is not acceptable [1:36:46] and it's not only is it not acceptable it's just wrong i'm telling you if you want to have this country [1:36:53] our country to be safer more prosperous we're healthy you have to uplive the women and the girls of this world [1:37:01] i am pledging to work with you to do that and i hope you will i want to go on to another point [1:37:09] which is gavi we provided the state department 600 million dollars for gavi that is the vaccine alliance [1:37:18] that delivers life-saving vaccines and protect children from deadly diseases like measles [1:37:24] malaria poli and so forth its work its workers reaches nearly half the women's children and has [1:37:32] saved over 20 million deaths since since the beginning and now your state department has not [1:37:44] distributed this or not allowing gavi to distribute this because you're waiting for a response from [1:37:53] a vaccine conspiracy theorist i almost put terrorist yeah he's a health terror uh robert f kennedy this is [1:38:04] so wrong i just ask you i think we asked you about this before to commit to getting these funds out can you do that [1:38:16] i mean first of all i don't think it's fair to call secretary kennedy a terrorist i mean [1:38:20] um he has strong views on health issues and you may not agree with them but i i think by and large [1:38:26] he's also made a positive contribution to this administration a variety of fields uh whether [1:38:31] you agree with it or not that's i and i okay well anyway listen you know what but let me talk about [1:38:36] gavi in specific because you understand that obviously that's been largely a state department [1:38:41] prerogative in the past that the direction of the president we've allowed secretary kenny we've worked [1:38:45] with secretary kenny on his input to get reforms from gavi he wants reforms from the organization [1:38:51] and we've been supportive in pushing those reforms and what i told the committee in the [1:38:54] senate a moment ago is we've now reached the stage not anything negative towards secretary [1:38:58] kennedy where we've now reached the stage where the state department will become more engaged in [1:39:02] making sure we can reach an outcome because we have to get to an outcome here okay but just to [1:39:06] reserve my time i heard what you said we do want the reforms that he supports all right well i don't [1:39:11] know what reforms i can't even imagine this man knows what he's talking about but the fact is we [1:39:16] need to get this these vaccines out then i just just want to uh i want i just i do want to just say [1:39:24] this that we're still waiting uh for a report to congress on the women peace and security act i hope you [1:39:31] can get that to us um you told us that the the regional bureaus have dedicated staff on women tell us [1:39:42] who to call because we haven't been able to get make any headway on that and i just want to end [1:39:47] with this um two things i wanted to say first of all this crazy this ice ice is an abomination and [1:39:59] what they're doing and the immigration uh policy in this country is an embarrassment it is inhumane [1:40:06] but it is crazy that you want to let people in from south africa because they can assimilate [1:40:13] while you're throwing out hundreds of thousands of people who have already assimilated and that are [1:40:18] important parts of our economy and family life secondly i just want to end with this i hope that [1:40:26] this administration will have the patience in reaching a diplomatic agreement to keep iran from [1:40:34] obtaining a nuclear weapon but a trade-off should not be giving them the ability to fund proxy terrorists [1:40:43] and with that i thank you again for being here and i yield back thank you uh and you did mr edwards [1:40:52] thank you again secretary rubio we appreciate uh that you've had an intense day up here on capitol [1:40:57] hill and that uh more intense here than the senate i'll tell you that and that uh you you've been [1:41:04] here to share your thoughts your philosophies and you've been so transparent with uh this subcommittee [1:41:11] even where there are obviously some places that we don't agree uh but i i again can't tell you how [1:41:21] much i appreciate the focus of the administration abroad uh with that i've just got one question [1:41:27] fairly short uh the the u.s foundation for national natural security and counterterrorism was passed into [1:41:35] law as the u.s foundation for international converse conservation at the end of 2024 and as you know [1:41:44] this foundation was created with the understanding that mismanaged impoverished and the protected areas [1:41:50] across the globe can become safe havens for transnational organized crime drug cartels and terrorist [1:41:58] networks all core principles that would fit under the america first agenda however funds for the [1:42:05] foundation now under the purview of the state department launched and the funding is frozen and because [1:42:15] the foundation's two to one private public match there's about 600 million dollars that could be [1:42:22] stabilizing east africa and the sahel uh region cracking down on illegal chinese fishing stopping cartel [1:42:35] driven deforestation in the amazon with protected area enforcement is this foundation something that [1:42:45] you're committed to and if so what would need to happen for that to become activated and for [1:42:53] for the funding to be well you may correct me if i'm wrong i think the foundation depends on some [1:42:58] appointments that need to happen to the there's a there's a governing structure to it that it has both [1:43:04] presidential and congressional appointments i think those have not happened yet and i know that's [1:43:08] probably taken longer as a supporter than you would want it to see happen and others um we can't [1:43:14] really activate this until it stood up and right now it just hasn't been the the governing structure [1:43:19] of it is not in place for a variety of reasons i would imagine part of it is the change in administration [1:43:24] with so much going on we just haven't gotten to the point where we've gotten i don't believe we have [1:43:28] the congressional appointments either on that uh i may be wrong about that but i don't believe so as well [1:43:33] so let me get back to you on where we stand on these appointments because having that governing [1:43:36] structure in place is what's necessary in order for it to be deployed i can tell you i've heard a [1:43:41] lot about it it has strong supporters in both the house and senate in both parties if i'm not mistaken [1:43:47] i think senator graham was involved in this effort in the senate along with senator coons and i'm not [1:43:52] sure who the sponsors were on this side so we've had numerous inquiries but we've got to get those [1:43:57] appointments before we can activate it all right thank you we'll follow up as well i yield thank you um [1:44:05] ranking member delora thank you mr chairman um mr secretary we're currently in the midst of a [1:44:13] significant outbreak of a of a type of ebola that has no authorized treatment or vaccine the outbreak [1:44:20] is occurring in a region of the world that really is highly insecure and in the wake of the [1:44:26] administration's withdrawal from the world health organization the dismantling of usaid and the state [1:44:33] department's restructuring of global health engagements impacting the centers for disease [1:44:39] control and prevention it is now my understanding that the state department is now rushing millions [1:44:45] of dollars for the response i would have preferred for funding to be spent on preparedness and detection [1:44:53] just as you as you outline in your global health strategy but here we are uh with a growing uh [1:44:59] case uh case uh case counts and people dying in 2014 in an op-ed you wrote that it was quote inexcusable [1:45:10] end quote that no senior official had been designated to lead the u.s ebola response under president obama [1:45:19] and today there is no single designated lead and the senior national security council position [1:45:28] responsible for coordinating infectious disease and biosecurity is vacant mr secretary who is in charge [1:45:38] of the ebola response and how is that different from what you called inexcusable in 2014 well it's [1:45:48] different in a couple ways first of all our response has actually been faster than the response in 2014 [1:45:53] both in the ability to flow funds to our partners in the region and in standing up [1:45:57] all kinds of facilities let me answer the second question first and then get back to the first [1:46:01] we are at this time it's an interagency process in which multiple agencies are involved in this [1:46:05] response the u.s state department's taking a lead in some aspects of it but even department of war is [1:46:10] involved in the sense of flowing for example the standing up of this clinic this i this uh observation [1:46:16] post in kenya that will allow us to observe uh expose just for 21 days if they are infected those [1:46:24] americans will be transported to a treatment facility somewhere in europe or maybe stateside [1:46:28] if after 21 days are not infected they continue home we're standing up that facility but we flowed [1:46:34] i believe well over 200 million dollars to partners in this response this is not a scramble this is [1:46:39] something that broke out in a rural area of a war-torn country and was underreported for over a month [1:46:46] not because of anything other than the fact that it was in a rural area in a war-torn country that was [1:46:50] highly unstable and on your first point about who's in charge one of the things that's being [1:46:54] discussed in the interagency is whether we need to stand up a specific individuals for this specific [1:47:00] case and that's been proposed a couple people being considered i don't want to use the term ebola czar [1:47:05] but someone with the qualifications to sort of serve full-time in the coordination of the [1:47:10] interagency in the interim the interagency has a daily meeting on this and we at the state department [1:47:15] have a task force 24 7 on it as well it would be in keeping with what you talked about in [1:47:20] 2014 to have a single person in charge it's always better to have a point person i think you would [1:47:27] agree well ultimately you're trying to coordinate working with the agencies yeah because it's it has [1:47:31] to be interagency but there is a is is one person uh who is coordinating them and the information flows [1:47:39] through so apparently you are thinking about doing that i think it would be sooner uh than than later and [1:47:46] i would just uh say that i i i i think in the wake of withdrawing from world health and dismantling of [1:47:55] u.s id i think it has put us in a a a position of of really trying to play catch up on this one because [1:48:05] we should have learned uh from 2014. let me adjust um uh last year you testified that quote no children [1:48:15] are dying on my watch end quote due to the termination of usaid it has been estimated that the total [1:48:24] number of additional child deaths is more than 500 000. while we'll never know the exact number of [1:48:30] deaths i believe that there have been additional child deaths from diarrhea malnutrition from pneumonia [1:48:38] from malaria and hiv i would hope that we would really not accept the consequences of the termination [1:48:51] of these programs because it is unacceptable to see that kind of death and destruction but that we will [1:49:01] have learned that we need this some of these programs and the apparatus to be in place that help us to [1:49:09] prevent uh these illnesses and be able to respond rapidly so that we can be in the position of the [1:49:18] united states of of preventing death particularly amongst the children of the world with that mr [1:49:26] chairman thank you well i just say this number keeps getting thrown around i dispute that just [1:49:31] those numbers are nowhere near reality that's not reality that's not a reality that half a million [1:49:36] well i would be happy to try to document it but mr chairman my time is expired well how about my time [1:49:41] well i get time to respond or i just have to i think it's fair for him to to for the secretary just [1:49:46] for a quick mr chairman the question was asked and we've been going a little bit over and then if that's [1:49:52] the case i can go back and take a look at all the areas in which this is documented what the losses [1:49:58] are because i have that information thank you the ranking member you can always submit that to the [1:50:02] record if you well desire i just want to respond to that point just give a quick response and then [1:50:06] the quick response is this no country in the world spends more money not even close minerals [1:50:11] about reliable supply chains you've been doing a lot in this area with pax silica quad critical minerals [1:50:19] initials framework um after you maybe respond i would love to learn a little bit more about that [1:50:26] well i mean i made my point my point is we spend more money than anybody else on foreign aid by far [1:50:32] not even close and we're going to spend it smarter than we ever have before as well i mean part of [1:50:36] these health compacts 32 countries around the world have signed compacts with us that will allow us not [1:50:41] just to deal with the acute cases that are occurring but actually strengthen the health programs of these [1:50:46] countries so that they become self-sustaining over time some will get there in five years some may [1:50:51] take ten but all these countries love these mous because we're building their domestic capabilities [1:50:56] to address these challenges i've always said the best foreign aid program is a program that ends because [1:51:01] the country doesn't need it anymore south korea is a great example this was a country that was an aid [1:51:05] recipient today they are an aid donor we'd love to see that replicated and these countries that are [1:51:10] signing the mous love it because they've gone from an era of dependency to an era of self-sustainment [1:51:16] that we're helping and partnering with them directly with their health care systems we are [1:51:19] we are not going we're not just standing up ngos that come in from abroad and go into the country [1:51:24] and tell them this is what you need to be doing we are empowering the national health agencies of [1:51:29] our partner nations so they can deal with this now on the issue of critical minerals look it's [1:51:36] it's an issue of global consensus now forget about which country it is it is not healthy for the global [1:51:42] economy and frankly it is dangerous for national security and the security of the world [1:51:46] to depend on any single country for 90 percent of anything that's critical to your industrial base [1:51:50] your defense base your technology base and so i think there is we we hosted pac silica which you [1:51:57] mentioned is a great conglomerate of countries that have signed and cooperating on protecting [1:52:01] particularly the supply chains related to artificial intelligence and development in that field [1:52:06] as well as hopefully standards that go associated with it in the field of critical minerals we had a [1:52:12] ministerial i don't remember but march or april this year earlier this year we had three dozen [1:52:19] or more countries attend the critical minerals ministerial and every country go into today and at [1:52:24] every embassy around the world critical minerals are a key component of our diplomacy not just the [1:52:29] access to the raw materials but the ability to process those materials into a usable product [1:52:34] that are that are that are critical and and obviously we are doing that overlaid with a mapping of our [1:52:39] vulnerabilities and i don't say our vulnerabilities these are the vulnerabilities of japan the [1:52:43] vulnerabilities of south korea the vulnerability of the majority of europe and frankly of the world [1:52:48] we simply have a hyper concentration of of the whether it's critical minerals or you could add [1:52:55] pharmaceuticals to that concentrated in the hands of one country and it leaves us dangerously dependent [1:53:01] and cannot continue and dangerously dependent because you can be cut off in a crisis you can be cut [1:53:05] off in a contingency in which they use it against you for leverage so it's an all hands on deck approach [1:53:11] and i would say almost anywhere you travel in the world you will find if you interact with our embassy [1:53:15] that critical minerals and critical mineral agreements and critical integral cooperation has become central [1:53:20] and core focus of our economic diplomacy around the world wanted to just follow up on a little bit [1:53:28] of a separate issue but it's something that i know you think about um when you think about haiti and all [1:53:36] they've been through what more can the administration do what more can congress do what ways does the [1:53:42] international community need to step up well on haiti we have this gang suppression force which replaced [1:53:49] the mss that was standing there um it'll come it'll come at a fraction of the cost of the u.s about 100 [1:53:56] something million versus eight or 900 million because other countries have stepped up and donated to it [1:54:01] the force is actually over recruited the number of the number of commitments we have for the force is [1:54:07] larger than the number of slots we needed available and the core of it is this these gangs won't just [1:54:12] sit back i'm sorry these groups won't just sit back and watch gangs operate this international [1:54:17] security force that will be there will be on the ground to take and hold territory from the gangs so [1:54:22] that the government can gain in strength hopefully be able to have an election but also take back their [1:54:27] economic vibrancy this is an effort that was endorsed at the united nations it took a lot of work [1:54:31] at the united nations to get it approved so that's what's opened the door for all these countries [1:54:35] to join it it's going to be a challenge haiti is a very big challenge but this is the best plan we've [1:54:41] had in a long time to address it it has the support of the international community not just [1:54:45] rhetorical support but monetary support and troop contributions and police contributions and uh [1:54:51] we hope it's successful it has to be successful because there is no plan b at this point [1:54:56] thank you mr chairman are you back thank you very much miss mang you're recognized thank you mr [1:55:01] chairman uh mr secretary this administration has claimed to prioritize curbing waste fraud and abuse [1:55:08] but in this department you've overseen the destruction of over eight million dollars worth [1:55:13] of birth control bought by u.s taxpayers even though many organizations have already offered to buy [1:55:20] and to distribute them these are the same birth control methods used by millions of women and girls [1:55:26] here in the u.s if distributed they could have prevented an s 10 000 unsafe abortions and the death of over [1:55:36] 700 moms your apartment your department is attacking them earlier this year 66 of my colleagues and i [1:55:45] sent you a letter in january asking about the status of these supplies but we never got an answer [1:55:52] um secretary rubio what is the status of these birth control supplies we're operating under executive [1:55:59] directive not to participate in these programs internationally the united states is not going [1:56:03] to fund this internationally it's as simple as that i mean that that's what's happening but these [1:56:09] products already exist how much have taxpayers spent to keep them in warehouses instead of distributing [1:56:16] them well i don't know what it costs to store them in the warehouses per se i think some of them as [1:56:20] you pointed out have been has been have been disposed of we're not going to use them the government [1:56:26] united states is not going to be involved in distributing contraceptive and all these other [1:56:30] things around the world and that's a directive we're operating under from the executive order and [1:56:34] that's not where we're going to prioritize our funding okay these these supplies are not damaged expired [1:56:43] or destroyed um do you have any issues with them being distributed we're going to follow directives [1:56:49] that are in place i have an issue in us being involved in that that is not what foreign aid in [1:56:52] the united states is supposed to be paying for to be honest it's not foreign aid of the united states [1:56:56] should be to advance the national interest of our country and that's what we're going to focus [1:57:01] our resources on and i know there'll be disagreement people are you know making noises in the background [1:57:06] here but here's the bottom line that well look at the end of the day that is the policy of this [1:57:10] administration and we're going to execute on that policy our foreign aid is going to be about [1:57:15] advancing the national interest of the united states we don't view that this isn't the national [1:57:19] interest of the united states that we don't know what what core national interest of the u.s do these [1:57:24] programs advance for us we're we're not just making noises we're concerned about preventable deaths [1:57:31] and life-saving measures for for women for girls for um i understand but this an internet again the [1:57:40] the united states there are a lot of worthy causes and worthy endeavors around the world the united [1:57:45] states government government is not a charitable not women and girls around the world of course [1:57:49] women and girls and every one of our programs every one of our of our programs that have to do with [1:57:56] with foreign aid be it our work with a global fund be it our work with pepfar be it our work with [1:58:02] these mous that we have in place on fund every single one of these involves not i would say in some [1:58:08] cases more women girls and children than they do adult males because of the nature of the aid that [1:58:13] we're providing but you're asking about a very specific type of if i could ask in in march the new [1:58:19] york times reported that that ken jackson a senior state department health official at the time wrote a [1:58:25] memo and wrote a memo to omb director vote on these supplies including the option to distribute them [1:58:32] to your knowledge did mr vote receive this memo and did he have anything to do with these decisions [1:58:38] i don't remember that article that you're pointing to or the memo in specific that you're talking [1:58:42] about mr vote had anything to do with the decisions about what we always as you guys know the role [1:58:47] that omb plays they issue directives on spending to the agencies um that that's the role they've [1:58:53] always played that includes in the formulation of the budget we've presented to you i can't speak [1:58:57] specifically about whether he saw that memo or whether someone in his office addressed it [1:59:01] so i mean mr secretary you were here in congress before you know that for over six decades in a [1:59:09] bipartisan way the u.s has supported these international family planning programs they have [1:59:15] saved the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls for pennies on the dollar last year despite [1:59:21] congress directing funding for international family planning programs on a bipartisan basis [1:59:28] you told me quote there is no plan to spend that money we're not going to be in that business [1:59:33] globally we're not going to do it just earlier this year congress again funded these programs [1:59:39] um i i want to know what is the plan and under what authority are you refusing to spend taxpayer [1:59:46] dollars directed by congress again i i don't we're working through directives for this year we'll [1:59:53] be in consultation with your staffs about the ones that we're going to be pursuing and we'll bring [1:59:56] those available to you as we make them but the policy that you reiterated that said last year is [2:00:01] the one i've stated here again today pretty consistently um on the issue of directives that [2:00:05] you just asked about we'll be i know you the appropriations bill from last year had a number of them [2:00:10] and we'll be working with your staff to we haven't finalized yet which ones we have a problem [2:00:15] with and which ones we don't but um but we'll be doing that here very shortly thank you i yield back [2:00:20] thank you uh mr alford you're recognized sir well thank you once again chair thank you secretary the uh [2:00:26] first world cup match in the united states of america i think is in nine days team argentina [2:00:32] arrived in kansas city yesterday uh they're we're hosting them a lot of tourists or millions of [2:00:39] tourists are coming to the united states of america uh can you talk about what your department has done to [2:00:45] get ready for this massive influx of visitors and make sure that cities like kansas city receive a [2:00:52] return on the investment for these events well as you know we set up an expedited process for visas for [2:00:58] people that own the fifa card in essence the fifa you have to prove that you have a ticket you [2:01:02] purchased the ticket you still go through the vetting you still go through all that process [2:01:06] but you have to prove that you've bought a ticket to a game not just that you're coming to attend [2:01:10] so that's for the fans perspective and so far from what we you know we're interacting now on a daily [2:01:15] basis with fifa and the world cup people we feel really good about the processing there are a couple [2:01:20] places that might be more challenging but by and large um if you own a fifa ticket and and you've registered [2:01:28] through that program you will receive extradited processing to make sure you can attend matches [2:01:33] in the united states obviously it's also being hosted by canada and mexico so that provides some [2:01:38] level of complexity because some of the matches might begin in mexico and wind up finishing in the us [2:01:43] but um nonetheless we feel pretty good about where we stand on that in the case of the athletes and the [2:01:50] teams themselves um obviously that that's been handled separately they don't they're applying differently [2:01:56] they're still going through the same vetting by and large but um for the most part we have not had [2:02:01] any reports of any teams having a struggle to get here except for um i will i will highlight this [2:02:08] um the the iranian team has chosen to stay in mexico as opposed to the united states um in the beginning [2:02:16] of the event we have no problem with the athletes as we stated earlier or their support staff but what [2:02:20] we're not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have [2:02:25] nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the irgc or things of that nature so we're going to watch [2:02:30] that very closely and we'll continue to watch that very closely but by and large i don't anticipate that [2:02:35] problem with any other country i want to end our final moments talking about global media real hot [2:02:41] topic last year uh can you update us on the new broadcasting plans with recent changes to the [2:02:48] government's global media investments how are we reaching people in the communist authoritarian [2:02:54] nations and how have widespread internet outages for example in iran affected free media from entering [2:03:01] into these contested spaces so while i believe that that program is under the jurisdiction of your [2:03:06] committee we don't entirely that's an ancillary function to the u.s state department nonetheless [2:03:11] we have great interest in how it works out uh because it does have an impact on our diplomacy [2:03:16] on our foreign policy as you highlighted appropriately that there was actually an internet outage [2:03:21] it's shut down the internet was completely shut down in iran until very recently it was restarted [2:03:26] so even vpns wouldn't work because you had no access liberty to the pipes they've restarted some [2:03:32] limited access to the internet because it was devastating their commercial sector but it's been [2:03:37] problematic it's been damaging no doubt about it and and and shows you how critical and important it is [2:03:43] and why authoritarian regimes are so fearful of it as you know uh recently there was a court order that [2:03:48] basically stopped all of the reforms that have been put in place by the previous administrator [2:03:54] so we've had to go back to the drawing board and begin from scratch on rebuilding that global program [2:04:00] as a result of that court order all the decisions that were made by the previous director were also [2:04:05] eliminated again we don't control it but we are involved in giving input and guidance because it does [2:04:11] have a direct impact on our ability to conduct diplomacy and on conditions within these countries got a minute [2:04:18] 30 left i want to ask one last question i'm going to pivot back to gaza just a bit because there's [2:04:24] been some allegations made that uh maybe we aren't living up to our commitment to this 20-point plan [2:04:30] is the case sir not that uh having to do with hamas hamas was left in place by the previous [2:04:38] administration who tied bb netanyahu's hands refused to let him finish off hamas and now we're still having [2:04:45] to deal with these uh uh terrorists who keep popping up and and uh threatening the people of gaza who [2:04:52] want to get on with their normal life i mean at the core is that the problem the issue with gaza is that [2:04:58] our hope is not just for a peace deal our hope is for a a complete rebuilding of it in a way that's [2:05:04] positive that gives people economic opportunity and some level of governance for themselves without [2:05:08] having to be run by a terrorist organization and so the key to that is investment and attracting and [2:05:13] there are there's plenty of interest as i said both donor countries in the region companies that want [2:05:18] to be involved in the redevelopment and good people in charge of sort of envisioning what that would [2:05:22] look like the fundamental challenge at the end of the day will always be that you can get all the [2:05:26] pledges you want for assistance in rebuilding you can get all the interest you want from those who [2:05:30] want to go in and be a part of it no one is going to invest there as long as hamas is militarized [2:05:35] because as long as hamas is militarized they know that there's going to be a war in the future [2:05:40] there just is if hamas remains in place so the goal now is to demilitarize hamas that is that is the [2:05:46] impediment that's holding up the rest of it is still ongoing all the planning of all the the [2:05:51] meetings all of the but but the impediment to actually effectuating many of these other points [2:05:55] is that hamas still refuses to demilitarize and it's not just us that are frustrated by it many of [2:06:01] the partner countries in the region that helped put this deal together are frustrated and pressuring [2:06:05] hamas to comply with that requirement as well thank you sir i yield back before i recognize uh [2:06:10] mr siskamani i just remind the gentleman that uh two of those players on the well at least two maybe [2:06:16] more but two that i'm aware of right now top of my head uh who are playing for the argentina national [2:06:21] team play weekly in miami into miami so anyways thought i'd mention that mr siskamani you're recognized [2:06:28] thank you um secretary i everyone here on the panel has welcomed you and um thank you for being here [2:06:35] i'm not sure that our welcoming nature is totally reflected on the 60 degree ac setting in this [2:06:42] room uh it's freezing at least for an arizona or floridian maybe in the hot seat it's not but over [2:06:47] here it's felt pretty cold uh but i i do wish to end with uh more on the warm side of things um when [2:06:54] and it's been said already by by the chairman and some of my colleagues here on the critical mineral side [2:06:59] of things uh the backbone of our defense system this is more a statement than the question because i know [2:07:04] you've answered it already but i want to energy infrastructure and the emerging technologies [2:07:09] right now china dominates the global supply chain for for many of them and you address that uh this [2:07:14] is a serious national security uh vulnerability and arizona specifically we have a mate we play a [2:07:19] major role in solution uh my state produces nearly 70 percent of the u.s copper and has significant [2:07:25] untapped critical mineral deposits that could meaningfully reduce our dependence on foreign supply [2:07:31] chains uh yet permitting challenges and the lack of diplomatic coordination continues to slow the [2:07:36] process so i i wanted to mention that uh if you have any further comments on that please go ahead but [2:07:42] i just have one question on nigeria and then you can cover both if you want and then that'll be the [2:07:46] end of my time uh i want to acknowledge the administration's counterterrorism successes along the [2:07:52] nigerian partners against lago haram these are meaningful steps forward defending people of faith [2:07:59] from persecution remains a top priority for this subcommittee which is why our fy 27 bill conditions [2:08:06] assistance to nigeria one of the deadliest places in the world to be a christian today this committee [2:08:12] also submitted recommendations to the white house and violence against christians in nigeria and we [2:08:18] hope those inform the path ahead with that in mind how does the department intend to move forward on [2:08:23] this issue particularly on the atrocities prevention and religious freedom protections thank you for that [2:08:29] actually it's an interesting uh not that we were unaware of it but it was congressional attention to [2:08:33] this matter that first brought it to the forefront even though we've been monitoring and watching it [2:08:37] for a while it's members of congress that really accelerated public attention on the plight of [2:08:42] christians in nigeria one of the first things we did immediately is engage with nigerian authorities [2:08:48] because in many cases what was happening there was not a lack of willingness on their part it was a [2:08:52] lack of capability in essence they were confronting groups that in many cases had better weapons [2:08:57] weapons uh more sophisticated weaponry in some cases they were facing a real domestic challenge [2:09:02] and they too jointly identified these terrorist groups which are the ones that are conducting these [2:09:05] massacres as a threat to their security we were able to enter into very cooperative arrangements for [2:09:10] them in fact i've met with their national security advisor on a number of occasions i know our [2:09:15] department of war folks are working with them quite closely and have been able to conduct two you [2:09:20] know significant joint operations targeting these groups one on december 25th one as recently as two [2:09:26] weeks ago that eliminated the number two in the global uh isis affiliates in terms of the [2:09:34] and a very successful operation that in addition to eliminating these individuals captured a [2:09:38] substantial amount of intelligence and of items of intelligence value that will inform not just further [2:09:45] operations there but operations in other countries or or threats emanating from other countries as well [2:09:51] since then we've conducted a couple of other joint operations much smaller scale so i think we're at a [2:09:55] stage now where the cooperation between the united states and nigeria and going after these groups [2:10:01] is pretty substantial and i think a good success story and it's the work of both diplomacy from [2:10:05] the state department but frankly liaison to work with the department of war thank you thank you for [2:10:12] that chairman i go back thank you mr siskamani um as a reminder members as you all know may submit [2:10:18] additional questions for the record mr secretary look let me you have multiple hats secretary of state national [2:10:25] security advisor let me just thank you for your outstanding service to this great country of ours [2:10:30] and also thank you for your time today you've been very generous with your time this concludes today's [2:10:35] hearing the subcommittee on national security department of state and related programs stands adjourned