I urge the committee to take a hardline with the State Department on what determines effective steps to reduce attacks against human rights defenders.

That is a slap in the face to the constitutional authority of this committee and this Congress and we should not stand for it.

The debt limit is a phony political issue that we get wrapped around the axle.

So one of the things we can do together as Republicans and Democrats in Congress is to turn back attempts by the administration to hollow out American diplomacy and development.

We need to return also to regular order. We need to pass both the budget and stand-alone appropriations legislation on time, every time.

I have a lot of constituents too who have been victims of this--of all these drugs coming into our country.

And no wall and no barrier and no new restrictions in our asylum laws will prevent families from fleeing until the root causes in each country are addressed, including corruption and impunity.

I think it ought not to be used, as I think this Administration is contemplating using it, as a leverage.

The debt and deficits that we incur are not labeled defense and non-defense. Nor even are they labeled entitlements. They are just the deficit that all of our kids are going to have to pay.

I also co-chair the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Colombia, and currently Colombia is the deadliest place in the world for rights defenders.

My commitment as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee is I will work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to bolster the State Department and USAID.

I think when he comes up here, we can't be a cheap date. We need to make sure that he keeps his promises.

The committee must ensure that there are consequences for such a stunning lack of urgency on the part of the Colombian state to protect and defend human rights and social leaders.

I think that is not honest budgeting, not only for this generation, but for generations to come.

the level of attacks and murders of rights defenders is astonishingly high.

I was extremely disappointed to see that rural broadband funding was cut by $350 million.

You must put your money where your mouth is.

I want to ensure that the resources that this subcommittee provides are used as intended.

I was disappointed that the budget cuts agriculture research by over $179 million.

I find that unacceptable in 2019.

It is simply unfathomable to think otherwise.

The proposed elimination of programs such as Food for Peace, McGovern-Dole, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, Summer EBT, rural watershed protection programs, and nearly all of the rural housing loan and grant programs is wholly…

nobody in this country should ever have to go hungry, and I think this program goes a long way in dealing with that.

I think the best of America is in our--is represented in our food and nutrition programs.

You don't try to fix things that aren't broken.