Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 8771, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025.

As a daughter of immigrants and as the Representative of one of the most diverse communities in our Nation, I know firsthand the impact of world events on my friends and neighbors in Queens, but for the second straight year, the GOP is turning our back on the world by cutting critical investments in U.S. diplomacy and development, attacking women's rights, and retreating from the world stage.

This government spending bill would slash the State and foreign operations budget to the lowest level in over a decade. It undermines America's long legacy of leadership that has lifted millions out of poverty, stemmed diseases like HIV and malaria, helped millions of children learn to read and write, and supported the most vulnerable in their time of need.

Mr. Chair, $7.6 billion in funding cuts will isolate us from our allies and the international conflicts we are confronting together. These cuts would gut women's health and rights around the world, putting maternal health and the well-being of millions of children at risk.

Furthermore, this bill would codify the Trump-era global gag rule, forcing healthcare organizations across the world that receive aid from the U.S. to choose between providing a full range of healthcare options to their patients or forgoing U.S. assistance altogether.

From healthcare and climate change to diplomacy and security, this legislation falls woefully short of the resources we need to address the international crises we are facing today.

America alone is not America First. From my community of Queens and its connection to so many others across the globe, I am voting against this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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