On the recordApril 4, 2017
Congressman Engel mentioned maintaining the United States' position as a leader in the world and not ceding that to another country, whether it is China or Russia, who has been very aggressive, and it is not just maintaining a strong defense. I represent what is known as Military City, USA: San Antonio, Texas. Once upon a time we had five military bases in San Antonio. We still have Joint Base San Antonio, which is a large operation. So it is not just about a strong defense, which we all support, but also about the hard work of diplomacy and development. The United States, who has been a leader for so long, if we back away from our commitments, then we not only cede it to somebody else, but there is a good chance that a lot of that work is not going to get done, that the peoples in many nations around the world are going to become poorer, more desperate; and from that, only bad things can happen both for those peoples, but also for the neighboring countries, for the United States, and for the world. Thank you for lending your strong voice to support for the diplomatic budget. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
