Gerry Connolly

And in your budget, he has proposed a 32 percent cut in the Function 150 and Function 300 international affairs functions of the budget that would cripple our ability, frankly, to engage in serious diplomacy.

He has embraced strongmen--Duterte of the Philippines; Erdogan of Turkey; Putin of Russia, el-Sisi of Egypt--while lecturing our closest allies about their commitments.

To call this an elevated involvement in the world would embarrass even George Orwell.

I guess I am wondering what the Trump Doctrine means. Because to some of us it looks like making America great again in the realm of foreign policy means unilateral withdrawal and disruption.

We have threatened the NATO alliance with being 'obsolete' and refused in Europe at the moment it was expected to reaffirm Article 5 and our commitment to it.

We have renounced the Paris Climate Agreement, signed by 195 countries. We have now joined the happy company of two, Nicaragua and Syria.

We don't oppose the nuclear agreement. We oppose the fact that nothing else was tied to it.

We have to look at this relationship clear-eyed. We have interests; they have interests. But it is anything but a perfect or stable relationship.

I am worried about what was not discussed, including basic human rights, including the rights of women.

This is a test of a new administration, whether its close ties to Russia can be put to our advantage in terms of curbing the behavior of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Was it an all-comprehensive agreement that covered all of Iranian behavior and our concerns?

Mr. Chairman, if I could just add, I have joined in the resolution so there are other members as well.

Now is the opportunity to get back on the saddle here because we do have an opportunity to further exacerbate those financial tensions for Hezbollah.

We don't get to rewrite history. You don't have to like it, but you don't get to rewrite it, and I think the record needed to be corrected.

I take enormous exception to my colleague from Virginia asserting that maybe this administration will get serious about sanctions when the previous one did not.

We care a lot about whistleblower protection legislation, and so we want to learn from your experience.

I hope, I want to believe it is by a rookie White House that doesn't fully understand how the legislative branch functions and constitutionally has a function.

It would be interesting to hear from them.

If there is one thing in terms of process that ought to unite us, it is in opposition to this avowed policy coming out of the Trump White House

We need a package of rules and legislative changes so that responders to congressional inquiries cannot rely on phony privilege claims and delay tactics.

Clearly, Congress needs to do something.

I urge you all to take off your partisan hats for a moment.

The American people, including the Terry family, they are right here, they are right here to remind us of what government can do that is illegal and get away with it.

The privilege should not extend to allow the Department to hide its internal communications about responding to Congress.

I agree with my friend from Maryland. Official time is a very useful tool in the Federal workplace, both for management and for labor, and has proved its worth over the years. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California…