Sheila Jackson Lee: “I come from a community richly diverse, with many international citizens and international concerns. This is a bad bill…”

“I come from a community richly diverse, with many international citizens and international concerns. This is a bad bill, and I would rather have a better bill. I realize the intensity of the work that went into H.R. 1561, and I applaud those who have worked on it. But I think we can go a step further and make this bill more responsive to the responsibilities of the President of the United States. This bill would impede the President's authority to organize and administer foreign affairs agencies to best serve the Nation's interests. The Agency for International Development, United States Information Agency, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency are doing valuable work that would be undermined if various programs are consolidated under the State Department. Yes, we can save money. We all agree that a balanced budget is important. But the cuts in this particular legislation undermine the President's effort and this country to be a world leader. This bill does not speak well of America's leadership in the world. As a superpower, we must lead by example. We must promote democracy and human rights. We must not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. I would ask my colleagues to consider sustaining the President's veto.”