OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

Date: Feb. 3, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I am going to reserve what I am going to say about Chairman Cole until the end, but I thank the ranking member of the full committee, Congresswoman DeLauro, and the subcommittee ranking member, Congresswoman Frankel, for their work on this bill.

Madam Speaker, this full-year funding really refocuses our Nation's foreign policy in historic ways. It focuses on the United States' national security, but it does so while also restoring fiscal sanity. In the foreign policy arena, it actually reduces spending by 16 percent. Within those really historic reductions, the bill does more to counter our adversaries like China and Iran, the cartels in our hemisphere, and support our allies and friends. It does a lot more while spending a lot less money.

Madam Speaker, the bill increases funding to counter fentanyl. It increases support for religious freedom and to address religious persecution around the planet. It maintains our longstanding pro-life provisions, and this bill removes controversial funding directives like the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. It makes double-digit reductions to the U.N. funding. More importantly, or equally as important, it gives the Secretary of State the tools and leverage to demand much-needed reforms.

These are historic changes, and this approach, again, protects American taxpayers but also the national security interests of the United States.

Madam Speaker, we would not be here debating this if it wasn't for the brilliant, persistent leadership of the full committee chairman. A lot of folks said that we would never get here and that we would end up with another long-term CR, which would have been so detrimental to our country, but I will tell you that it was Tom Cole--yes, with his partners--but Tom Cole who brought us this far, who is going to actually get these bills passed and sent to the President for his signature.

Madam Speaker, the country owes Chairman Cole a debt of gratitude.

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