Eliot Engel

There is at the highest levels of the State Department a fundamental misunderstanding, as far as I am concerned, of the way our government is supposed to work, of the way public service is supposed to work.

What this is all about is that you and Secretary Pompeo apparently think you should be able to do whatever you want and not face accountability or scrutiny of any kind.

The report shows that we made up a phony emergency and did not do our due diligence to prevent civilians from being killed: cover it up, spin it, hide it in the classified annex, redact, redact, redact.

I am deeply concerned the impacts of COVID-19 will push more fragile States into conflict.

The Foreign Affairs Committee has strongly objected to these tactics in the past and fully expects the resources provided by Congress to be fully utilized.

We must double our efforts to ensure that every dollar spent is strategic in advancing U.S. interests.

A budget request is a lot more than numbers on a page. It is a statement of values and priorities.

Successful diplomacy and development is cost effective.

Over the past several years, this Administration has attempted several rescissions and other methods of slowing down or stopping foreign assistance spending.

I thank the chairman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the amendment that we passed already, but I wanted to give my strong support for it. Earlier this year, despite opposition from Congress and our allies, the…

For God's sake, these are our soldiers, and if we are not going to protect them, what are we going to do?

The Federal Government needs to immediately address these shortcomings as required by the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

I think President Xi of China has acted responsibly, very responsibly.

The National Security Law that Beijing drafted in secrecy and imposed on Hong Kongers will be swiftly used to suppress.

I want to commend the State Department for its May 28th Joint statement with the Governments of Australia, Canada, and the U.K. loudly opposing Beijing's imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong.

I remember when the agreement was signed with the U.K. It was going to be two different types of government, one China but two different types, two systems.

Nothing the Beijing government does would surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone.

We should be focused on two major elements in our policy toward Hong Kong. One is: does it support autonomy and democracy in Hong Kong? And second, does it advance American interests?

But at the end of the day, it is the White House that sets policy. And I fear that our policy has gone astray, perhaps emboldening China.

As the Chinese Government escalates its aggression toward Hong Kong, I am proud that the Congress has spoken again with a bipartisan voice, again and again in support of the people of Hong Kong.

I really take my hat off to you.

America stands in solidarity with the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong, and will continue to be a beacon of hope for all those fighting for democracy around the world.

If we do not speak out for human rights and democratic freedoms in China, we lose all moral authority.

All freedom-loving people must come together to condemn the law, which accelerates Beijing's years-long assault on Hong Kong's political and economic freedoms.

The law is a brutal, sweeping crackdown against the people of Hong Kong, intended to destroy the freedoms they were promised.