WATCH: Díaz-Balart Delivers Opening Remarks at the NSRP Subcommittee Budget Hearing with Secretary Rubio

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Appropriations Committee Vice Chair and Chairman of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee (NSRP), Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, delivered the following opening remarks during the NSRP Budget Hearing on Tuesday, June 2nd at 2:00 PM ET.

The full event was livestreamed on the House Appropriations Committee's YouTube channel.

Chairman Díaz-Balart's opening remarks as prepared here and below:

"Secretary Rubio, I am pleased to welcome you back to the NSRP Subcommittee for today's hearing on the fiscal year 2027 budget request for the Department of State and related programs.

Mr. Secretary, because of your extremely busy schedule, which I would argue has led to an extraordinary record of success for American foreign policy, we were unable to get your/ testimony on the budget request prior to marking up our fiscal year 2027 bill.

We hope the bill will soon be considered by the full House and then negotiated with the Senate before becoming law, so there is still plenty to discuss today on our FY27 proposals, as well as how the Department is implementing the FY26 funding provided earlier this year.

Despite being late in the budget season, I believe this hearing is well timed. As you may have heard, I just returned from leading a CODEL to South America. I was reminded, once again, how much leadership matters.

President Trump and your leadership, implemented by our embassies abroad, has fundamentally changed the course of our foreign policy and history, and it couldn't have come at a more important time, following four years of the previous Administration's efforts to consistently reward our enemies and frustrate our allies.

Likewise, we see the positive impacts of the leadership of key partners in the hemisphere such as President Peña in Paraguay and President Milei in Argentina, who are standing firmly with the United States and our shared values, despite tremendous pressure, and in doing so, advancing the national security and economic prosperity of our country and theirs. But while the anti-American, anti-freedom forces in the hemisphere are being defeated at the ballot box, they are not giving up. On the contrary, they are aggressively trying to sow chaos, including through violence. Just look at what they are doing in Bolivia.

The region is also confronting external malign influences, most notably the PRC, who are not too happy about what you and President Trump are accomplishing in partnership with pro-American allies. They're ratcheting up the pressure and will continue to fight back in what is now contested space that America ignored for far too long. The Trump Administration is transforming the world in bold and durable ways and as Chairman of this Subcommittee, I intend to provide the resources you need to ensure we can double down on our wins and continue to support freedom and security throughout the hemisphere and beyond.

However, we don't need to increase topline funding to do this. In fact, our FY27 bill reduces spending by $2.7 billion from the enacted level. That is in addition to the $12 billion in responsible cuts to funding this Subcommittee has delivered since 2023, because the greatest long-term threat to our country's stability and security is our debt.

With less funding, the bill does more for our national security. We provide an increase for embassy security to keep U.S. personnel safe. We increase Foreign Military Financing and International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to ensure our partners and allies around the world have the best equipment and training to advance our shared security.

I would note that your budget request in two of these areas - embassy security and counternarcotics and law enforcement - is greatly improved from the FY26 request by seeking levels that more accurately reflect the needs we see today, especially to carry out the President's national security strategy. In the coming years, I look forward to examining more comprehensive budget requests that will support the ambitious and critical foreign policy goals of this historic President.

However, I think we both agree that it's not just how much is spent. It's how the funding is spent. As you know well, Secretary Rubio, an America First foreign policy requires careful strategic consideration of how to spend American tax dollars abroad.

To that end, our bill maintains the requirement for you, Mr. Secretary, to consider, prior to providing funds, the voting practices of other countries at the United Nations. It also requires an assessment of cooperation on other issues of importance to the United States, such as migration issues, opposing foreign adversaries, and burden sharing among allies. These are all areas of focus where I believe the Department has achieved notable success, and I look forward to discussing them further with you.

To support a policy of peace through strength, the Committee recommendation for fiscal year 2027 once again supports allies and partners of the United States while countering adversaries and those countries and non-state actors that support them. Our bill includes steadfast support for our great ally Israel by providing $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing, consistent with the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding and maintains critical support for Egypt and Jordan.

With respect to confronting adversaries, the United States has been in nearly continuous conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran since its founding in 1979. For almost five decades, Iranians have endured repression, violence, and torture at the hands of the evil Iranian regime - a regime that exports terrorism, brutally suppresses dissent at home, and attacks the United States and our allies.

Last week on my CODEL, we visited the site of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, where in 1994, Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah attacked a Jewish Community Center in Argentina, killing 85 people and injuring over 300. In 1992, Hezbollah bombed the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring more than 200. These are just two examples of how Iran and Hezbollah have been exporting deadly terrorism around the world for decades. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to stop these terrorist regimes before they claim more victims.

In my view, the coordinated military action by the United States and Israel against Iran's military capabilities, as well as its nuclear program, will help ensure the security of the United States and our allies and partners for years to come.

I'm sure Members will have questions for you about these operations, including the status of efforts to help secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the status of our embassy operations in the region. The Committee also continues its longstanding focus on countering the challenge to United States national security posed by the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

This includes funding above the request for our Indo-Pacific strategy, including through fully funding the Countering PRC Influence Fund. The bill also strongly supports allies and partners in the region, including Taiwan, the Philippines, and Pacific Islands countries.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I am particularly proud of the fact that the United States has reprioritized the Western Hemisphere and put the Americas first, which has been a major American foreign policy priority throughout our history.

As with the President's bold action in Venezuela to remove the indicted criminal Nicholás Maduro, the United States is now decisively tackling security challenges closer to home and putting anti-American regimes - like communist Cuba - on notice. Threats to our national security will not be tolerated.

The bill continues strong support for democracy programs for the people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and calls on European partners seeking support for Ukraine to stand for freedom and democracy in the Western Hemisphere as well, especially in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. One of the State Department facilities in Argentina that we visited last week displays a plaque that reads, "Democracy is Still the Hope of the World." This is the sentiment that we should always remember.

More broadly, the Committee emphatically supports your efforts to strengthen United States economic ties with countries in our hemisphere. This includes combatting the influence of the PRC, securing access to critical minerals, supporting the nearshoring of vulnerable supply chains and identifying commercial opportunities, such as in countries transitioning away from authoritarian or communist political systems.

All these areas of emphasis align with administration priorities, and I look forward to working with you on implementation.

Mr. Secretary, we have endeavored in the committee bill to provide you with the resources and flexibility you need to implement the President's America First foreign policy. We appreciate your team working with us to implement committee directives from the FY26 bill and want you to know that we will work closely with you on your priorities as we advance this measure through the legislative process. Before I conclude, let me thank you for your service, Mr. Secretary, and also reiterate how much we appreciate the service of the men and women at the Department of State. I'll now turn to the Ranking Member, another great Floridian, for her opening remarks."

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