Eliot Engel

I am convinced that the administration's reversal on a long-held policy of removing Assad emboldened him to carry out the sarin gas attack in the first place.

You cannot fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to foreign policy.

At this point, there seems to be no strategy. A pinpoint missile strike is not a strategy.

You need to back up those lines but you also need to be consistent.

I couldn't agree with him more. And, you know, it is especially interesting since, during the campaign, President Trump attacked the previous administration for not being strong enough, for not showing American presence. And now with this…

I will start by voicing my support for three different measures addressing the ongoing challenge of North Korea.

This markup today is indicative of what you and I have both tried to do, along with members of this committee on both sides of the aisle.

We need to make serious investments.

Our 911 infrastructure is outdated, bordering on obsolete.

We need to continue providing humanitarian support and pressuring the government in South Sudan and the armed opposition to put the needs of their people first.

American leadership is vital and so far this administration by its actions is undermining our country's role in the world.

The administration's request to cut our international affairs budget by a third would be devastating.

The question I have for any of you is, would it be fair to say that the cuts included in the President's budget make us more vulnerable to international disease threats?

If we don't meet those commitments, or as is rumored, if there is a debate in the White House that somehow we might even pull out of the Paris Accords, it is going to fundamentally affect not just the climate science and diplomacy, but it…

I think the climate change agreement, the Paris Agreement, was one of President Obama's great achievements.

Unfortunately, President Trump's announced plans today to decimate President Obama's Clean Power Plan.

The danger of climate change for the United States is crystal clear, in my view.

Vladimir Putin just attacked American democracy and has been undermining our European allies for years.

If we cede our role as a global leader, make no mistake, someone will step into the void.

The United States is the global standard bearer for freedom, justice, and democracy.

Slashing diplomacy and development puts American lives at risk.

Cutting the international affairs budget by even a fraction of that would be devastating.

I find myself deeply troubled by the direction American foreign policy is heading.

What we need, I think, is, then, something to make the buildout more economically attractive to areas that aren't as dense as my district.

I encourage this Committee to support a strong international affairs budget.