Madam President, I so agree with my colleague from West Virginia and her comments about this budget. Here it is. I would encourage our citizens to pick it up and give it a read and look at some of the things that they are going to find in…

I look forward to working with you, Assistant Secretary Nichols.

Madam President, there is a sales tactic known as throwing spaghetti at the wall, where the salesperson suggests an outrageously high price to see if it sticks. More often than not, the price is dead on arrival. It is intended to be; that…

Mr. President, every year, I meet with local leaders and citizens in all 95 Tennessee counties, and with each visit, I am more and more encouraged by the changes I see. Low taxes, pro-business policies, and less invasive government have…

Mr. President, I ask for consent to speak for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I just want to come back and, again, put a reality check.

USAID already has the legal authorities and other tools necessary to pursue a comprehensive localization agenda.

I appreciate the approach that Ambassador Power is taking.

Ambassador Power gave a speech at Georgetown talking about the burden on your contracting officers.

Building that capacity creates or yields dividends well beyond the initial purpose.

I applaud Ambassador Power and her setting the goal of 25 percent localization over this Administration.

I would take us back to the Obama administration, and at that point the Obama administration put forward the USAID Forward program.

I certainly feel honored to have been able to work with you in the last Congress to achieve the beginning that we have in the State Department and I applaud you for taking us in this direction with USAID.

I want to contrast that with how the Chinese Communist Party handles their diplomacy, how the CCP handles their foreign assistance and their infrastructure development overseas, and in that regard, it is predatory.

USAID already has the legal authorities and other tools necessary to pursue a comprehensive localization agenda.

I applaud Ambassador Power and her setting the goal of 25 percent localization over this Administration.

I just want to come back and, again, put a reality check.

I appreciate the approach that Ambassador Power is taking.