Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, Russia's brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is not just a threat to Ukraine and its neighbors but to the world. If Russia succeeds in its aggression, other unprovoked attacks are inevitable. As my colleague, Representative Hoyer, said last week on the House floor: ``We are locked in a struggle between freedom and fascism, democracy and despotism, might and right. The war in Ukraine is that struggle manifest.'' Ukraine's democracy is being undermined every single day. Entire cities have been demolished. Women and girls are being sexually abused by Russian soldiers. Hospitals and schools, which should be safe havens, are being intentionally attacked. Thousands of innocent children and their families have been brutally murdered. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their country. Colleagues, we must continue to ensure that Ukraine has the funding and support it needs to defend itself and that vulnerable people continue to receive lifesaving assistance. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, Russia's brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is not just a threat to Ukraine, as I said earlier, and its neighbors but also to the world. If Russia succeeds in its aggression, other provoked attacks are inevitable. Drawdown of existing equipment has proven to be the fastest and most efficient way to get defensive weapons--mind you, defensive weapons--to Ukraine. We must continue to ensure Ukraine has the military equipment and materiel it needs to defend itself. This materiel is determined by the Department of Defense not to be needed domestically, and supplying it to Ukraine will not endanger U.S. readiness. The stakes could not be higher. Russia will not stop with Ukraine if the resolve of the world is not clear. Remember, this is the most efficient way to get defensive weapons to Ukraine. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, there is no doubt that Lebanon is in full-blown crisis. It has lacked an elected leader for almost a year. Its economy is crippled and the presence of Hezbollah, as both an armed actor and a political party, remains a challenge to national unity. At the same time, it hosts 1.5 million refugees from Syria. However, the Lebanese Armed Forces are considered by many to be the only functioning institution in Lebanon, transcending sectarian divides. This is largely thanks to the successful United States program to train and equip it. The Lebanese Armed Forces are broadly respected and traditionally played an important role in promoting national unity with neutrality and moderation. They have also been instrumental in maintaining domestic security and in counterterrorism by tackling threats posed by groups like ISIS or al-Qaida. The United States needs to pursue a democratic, pluralistic, and sovereign Lebanon and the Armed Forces are a key part of that. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, there is no mistake with regard to the error the United States made in going to war with Iraq in 2003, a decision which I proudly opposed. It was based on lies that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and we knew there were none. While two decades have passed since then, there is little doubt about the trauma experienced by the country that is still felt to this day. Iraqis fell prey to conflict and instability, experienced an uncountable number of deaths and displacements, and saw an erosion of their basic services, including health and education. An entire generation of children grew up in a chaos-filled environment with war and the subsequent emergence of terrorist groups and militias. That is as a result of the United States' invasion of Iraq, which I believe, as I remember it, very few, if any, Republicans, opposed. There were about 133 Democrats opposing this. We cannot walk away from our responsibility to help Iraq, now a key partner in the Middle East. As Secretary Blinken has said, America's greatest strategic asset lies within the alliances and partnerships we have with other nations. In partnership with Iraq, we have worked to ensure a stable, prosperous, and democratic country, which, quite frankly, we in many ways destroyed. Our assistance to Iraq mitigates extremism through programming that promotes mutual respect, tolerance, and understanding, provides support to the recovery of religious and ethnic minorities liberated from ISIS, including Christians and the Yezidis, and supports private-sector development and increased work opportunities, especially for women and youth. Additionally, USG-supported stabilization programs have enabled the return of nearly 5 million internally displaced persons to return to their communities of origin. But nearly 1.2 million people remain displaced, including 200,000 Yezidis who survived genocide at the hands of ISIS. USAID assistance is critical to restoring essential services and increasing stability among these vulnerable populations. Furthermore, our continued assistance in Iraq is vital to ensure the defeat of ISIS by supporting the reintegration of Iraqis repatriated from northeast Syria which meets the national security priority of the U.S. Government's Al-Hol Action Plan. It is in the security interests of the United States to continue supporting Iraq, as well as our moral responsibility not to abandon our partnership, especially with the unnecessary invasion and war in Iraq, which many of us opposed. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, it is very clear from the science that the most existential crisis this the world faces is from the growing climate crisis. Without intervention, our warming planet will have irreversible negative impacts on the United States and throughout the world. Climate change has resulted in lives upended in Texas and Florida and has led to extreme flooding in California and Vermont and throughout the country. Climate is not an issue that can be addressed by countries on their own. Air, water, pollution--they do not respect boundaries or sovereignty. The Paris Agreement in recognition of this brought all countries together around joint goals achieved by individual country plans. As proposed, this amendment would significantly damage the efforts of the United States to support developing countries as they pursue efforts to implement their commitments under the Paris Agreement. In addition, a wide range of U.S. climate and development programs would be impacted by this amendment, and it would seriously impede our ability to implement our obligations under the Paris Agreement. It would also prohibit the Department of State from participating in critical international climate negotiations. The climate crisis poses threats to the stability of countries, heightens social and political tensions, and adversely affects food prices and availability. This is according to our own military. The need for foreign assistance will only increase if we do not address the significant driver of crisis around the world. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, many of our developing country allies have made it very clear that strengthening their ability to address climate change and the threat that it poses is an overriding national priority, and they are looking to the United States for support. I was in COP27 in Egypt a couple of years ago, and this is exactly the message that was sent. The FY24 House State and Foreign Ops bill willfully ignores the changing climate and its implications for so many other global challenges this bill is intended to address, including promoting food and water security, global health, the protection of tropical forests and other vital natural resources, and social and political stability in strategically important regions. According to the World Bank, climate change could put 132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 and could drive the internal migration of an additional 216 million people by 2050. Every one of our districts has been challenged by severe drought, rainfall storms, and heat. We are continuing to spend more and more on humanitarian needs caused by these disasters both domestically and abroad. We need to get ahead of these crises. Helping communities cope, especially those with the least means to do so, is both moral and smart. Why are we demonizing these programs and cutting ourselves off from valuable tools? These are not problems anyone can solve alone. We must work with others which make cooperation and our multilateral tools work. That is what we need, such as the Clean Technology Fund, the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environmental Facility--all of these and more are so important. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, just one point I would like to mention with regard to the climate emergency, which it is. Our young people deserve a future. They deserve a planet that is here for them, and I think we need to understand that the work we do in this House--or that we are not doing--really affects their future and their lives and their livelihoods. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment.

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, it is quite despicable to target dedicated public servants and threaten their livelihoods--public servants doing their jobs and carrying out the policies of this administration or any administration. They deserve to be commended, not demonized. Our government is dependent on being able to attract the best talent to bring their skills to public service, especially when in most cases they could earn much more in the private sector. Who is going to be willing to do that if their names can be dragged through the political mud? Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield retired as one of our most distinguished foreign service officers after 35 years of service to this country. She returned from retirement in order to take on her current role as United Nations Ambassador, and she represents the United States admirably each and every single day. This is how we solve our policy differences? We should not make it personal and about people doing their jobs. I have worked with and have known Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. All the unbelievable bashing of who she is, her credentials, and what she has provided for this country is unacceptable and disgusting. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Mr. Chair, I hope that the gentlewoman and others really understand that public service is public service. This is not a private corporation. This is our Federal Government. This is who we are as a country, bringing forth our efforts to achieve global peace and security in the world. To continue to try to demonize our public servants is something that hopefully our young people are totally ignoring because we want them to come on board as Foreign Service ambassadors on behalf of this country. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.