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

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

The longstanding U.S. military investment for the independent Lebanese Armed Forces has worked to support U.S. security interests in the Middle East for over 15 years. Discontinuing this funding now will only serve to embolden Hezbollah on Lebanon's southern border.

I am proud to represent over 8,000 Lebanese-American families in my district in Peoria, Illinois. As the co-chair of the U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Congressional Caucus and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I work closely with the brave men and women in the U.S. military and intelligence community to ensure robust and stringent oversight of U.S. investment into the Lebanese Armed Forces, including our Special Forces members embedded with the LAF. Let me just repeat that: Every day, we have 30 U.S. military Special Forces embedded with the LAF.

There has not been one piece of evidence presented today from our U.S. military that, in fact, any of this money goes to Hezbollah or anybody else. Given the ongoing tension between Israel and Hezbollah, this is the wrong time to prohibit this funding. It would only serve to strengthen Hezbollah on the battlefield against Israel.

The stability of the LAF is imperative to the region and serves as an important counter to Hezbollah's damaging presence in Lebanon. The LAF, the Lebanese Armed Forces, stands as an independent, secular force in Lebanon, preventing terror attacks by ISIS, countering the actions of Hezbollah, fighting against weapons and drug smuggling, and maintaining internal stability.

They are the glue that keeps the country together. I agree with my colleague that we must be responsible stewards of taxpayer money spent abroad and continue to ensure necessary oversight mechanisms are in place to prevent money from falling into the wrong hands. However, we must not make decisions based on generalities, misinformation, or conspiracy theories but, instead, trust the U.S. military experts on the ground who provide oversight and serve our national security interests.

The LAF remains one of the strongest functioning partners the U.S. military has in the Middle East, and destabilizing the LAF will only strengthen Hezbollah and further provoke instability with Israel. I oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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