OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

By: Eli Crane
By: Eli Crane
Date: Jan. 14, 2026
Location: Washington, DC


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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment to defund the National Endowment for Democracy.

Although its name suggests a force for good, its mission has drifted far from its Cold War origins. This is a classic tactic of the swamp where bad policy and corruption hide behind a noble title.

I thank Mr. Mike Benz and other patriots. We have learned that this organization has engaged in global censorship, domestic propaganda, and regime-change politics. It has worked to crush populous movements, fuel color revolutions, and run off-the-books operations with plausible deniability.

The Trump administration attempted to defund it earlier this year, but that was reversed because Congress had previously approved it. Now is our chance to change that.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to prevent taxpayer resources from funding this rogue organization that works against our Nation's interests.

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for those remarks and also thank her son for serving in the Armed Forces. I too served in the Armed Forces, went on three wartime deployments, and I can tell you I didn't fight for any of this: global censorship, domestic propaganda, regime change politics, and many other things that this organization is doing.

Mr. Chair, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison).

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna).

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

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Mr. CRANE. Mr. Chairman, a vote against this amendment is a vote to preserve the status quo, censorship, unrest, and erosion of our values.

The American people may be busy, but they are not stupid. With this vote, they will see clearly who is fighting for them and who is not.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

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