Melanie Stansbury: “I thank Ranking Member Lee for her exceptional years of leadership on international affairs. She is a beacon of hope for…”

“I thank Ranking Member Lee for her exceptional years of leadership on international affairs. She is a beacon of hope for our country and to so many around the world. Mr. Chair, I rise today to oppose H.R. 8771, which is the GOP's State-Foreign Operations bill that is supposed to fund our international programs but, in this case, is defunding critical programs across the U.S. Government. This bill will not only make the United States less safe, it will make the world less safe. It defunds critical programs for international security and stability and includes poison pills that would undermine American leadership on climate action. It guts climate programs, undermines international commitments to our climate accords, and seeks to undermine U.S. leadership in tackling the climate crisis abroad and right here at home. We have to ask ourselves why is the GOP proposing to do this? For years donors have funded candidates and organizations that have propagated lies about the climate and climate denialism. They have propped up international oil and gas companies and their profits while the American people have paid for it at the pump and with billions of dollars in damages caused by extreme weather and climate inaction. Make no mistake: Climate change is real.…”