House Foreign Affairs Committe Ranking Member Meeks' Opening Remarks As Prepared at HFAC Markup of State Department Authorization Bills

Washington, D.C. - Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today delivered the following opening remarks at the House Foreign Affairs Committee markup of State Department authorization bills.

"I appreciate this Committee's effort to consider a State Department authorization. This is critical work. Congress has a responsibility to ensure America continues to have the most capable diplomatic and development workforce in the world. And I recognize your commitment to working on an authorization and the hard work of our staffs.

"As Bill Burns, one of America's finest foreign service officers wrote, 'diplomats are translators of the world to Washington and Washington to the world; they are early warning radars for threats and opportunities; builders and repairers of relationships; policy makers, drivers, and executors; protectors of our citizens abroad; promoters of America's economic interests; integrators of military, intelligence, and economic tools; organizers, conveners, negotiators, communicators, and strategists.'

"That is why what we do here matters. Our work must enhance-not diminish-the ability of our diplomats to succeed. That has always required clear eyes, real oversight, and a bipartisan process.

"Mr. Chairman, we had the chance to work together on a rigorous package of bills that addressed the Department's actual needs and could become law. Instead, the Majority has produced a rushed product-one that codifies many of this Administration's reckless efforts to hollow out the Department and dismantle USAID. And in the process, it erodes the bipartisan, bicameral foundation that past authorizations have relied on-one I worked to re-establish as Chairman.

"Meanwhile, the world has not stood still during the eight months your side has spent assembling these bills. We could have been conducting oversight on the Middle East, on Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, on the administration's alarming march toward confrontation with Venezuela, or on its abuse of the law to impose tariffs that raise costs for American families.

"We could have held extensive oversight hearings on the unprecedented changes President Trump and Secretary Rubio are driving at the State Department and USAID-representing the largest restructuring of America's diplomatic and development tools in six decades.

"We could have held hearings on why this administration has abandoned our Afghan allies, or our solemn duty to debate matters of war and peace. Instead, this Committee has been silent.

"That was the Majority's choice.

"To draw a contrast: in the first nine months of my Chairmanship, we held 17 public oversight hearings with 30 appearances from Biden administration officials. Under Chairman McCaul, the Committee held 26 public hearings with 56 appearances from administration officials. But in the last nine months, under your Chairmanship, this Committee has held only seven hearings with Trump administration officials. Just seven.

"I want to address one claim head-on. My colleagues across the aisle have suggested these bills were prepared in a bipartisan manner. With respect, nothing could be further from the truth. With a handful of exceptions, this product was drafted almost entirely behind closed doors-without meaningful engagement with Democrats, and without oversight on the many challenges facing the State Department today because of President Trump and Secretary Rubio's reckless decisions.

"The Majority points to an electronic portal as proof of bipartisanship. In practice, that portal was a black box. Democrats submitted hundreds of proposals. What we received in return were email alerts saying modifications had been made to legislative text we weren't even allowed to see. And the majority withheld valuable State Department technical assistance on the bill-a basic, bipartisan practice under every previous chairmanship. That is not negotiation. That is not transparency. And it shows in the deeply flawed bills before us today.

"Let me be clear: Democrats want to partner with Republicans to strengthen America's diplomatic and development capabilities, but we will not rubber stamp an administration's efforts to diminish U.S. diplomacy and soft power. We will not defer to the Executive Branch without scrutiny. And we will not simply go along to get along with a bill that ignores the damage this Administration is doing to American diplomacy.

"If this Committee's leadership is serious about our responsibility to authorize the State Department in a way that strengthens American diplomacy and protects Americans around the world, and I believe you are Mr. Chairman, then I urge you-as the first Chairman in two decades to successfully pass a State authorization into law-change course, and let's work together."