"I appreciated that you were clear that you understand the significance of the continent and the role that we play there."
"one of the things that I have appreciated over the last couple of years in this committee is legislation like you mentioned, Electrify Africa, and also Feed the Future, which I believe begins to chang..."
"cutting the USAID budget will inevitably harm African partners and hurt American interests."
"decreasing the number of diplomats available to serve in U.S. Embassies abroad... will decrease our ability to shape events and advance our interests on the continent."
"if such draconian cuts to the Department of State and USAID are allowed to proceed, then we will abdicate our position of principled partnership with African governments."
"the ranks of the Foreign Service can be dramatically reduced without harming the national interests of the United States is incorrect."
"deep cuts to the Department of State and USAID budgets will cause unavoidable damage to African partners and to American interests on the continent."
"Thank you, Mr. Chair and Chairman Smith for your leadership on this over many years, in particular Chairman Smith, who really was the leading force in the House for many years on the trafficking issue..."
"The State government--this is the Texas of the Texas miracle, one of the top 12 economies in the world... have literally been sending these sex trafficking victims, human trafficking victims, to jail ..."
"Texas is reportedly the State in the Nation that has the most human trafficking going on in it."
"I want to thank you to Chairman Royce and also Congressman Smith for your legislation on combatting human trafficking globally, but also, hopefully, domestically."