Cole Remarks at Budget Hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thank you, Chairman Rogers, and thank you Ranking Member Meng. 

I would like to welcome FBI Director Patel. It is good to see you again, and thank you for appearing before us today.

I want to remind everyone that when the Dean of the House—and the Chair of this Subcommittee—entered Congress back in 1981, discretionary spending stood at 45 percent, and mandatory spending was 55 percent of our total budget. Fast forward to today, and we now have discretionary spending reduced to 28 percent, and mandatory spending has swelled to 72 percent. Over the years, Appropriators, led by Chairman Rogers, have been able to significantly reduce the spending that we have been charged with and as the FY26 appropriations cycle unfolds, we will again do the hard work – agency by agency, program by program, and line by line.  

The President has delivered a starting point for this process with his recent FY26 blueprint. Congress will now analyze the submission and use hearings to evaluate priorities moving forward, and that is what we are doing today. The mission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a significant one: protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. Your work to secure our communities, along with preserving the integrity and trust of our top law enforcement agencies, is impactful each day.

Importantly, the FBI has been instrumental in Operation Not Forgotten, which focuses on investigations, services, and intelligence for Indian Country. According to the Department of Justice, at the beginning of fiscal year 2025, the FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations. Director Patel, I want to thank you and the FBI for reinstating and bolstering this critically important initiative not only for Oklahoma, but also for the entire country. As you may know, more than four in five Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. The murder rate is ten times higher than the national average for women living on reservations - initiatives like these are what make the FBI stand apart. 

Our nation faces countless threats. From terrorism and drug traffickers to cybercrimes and child exploitation, violent criminals work to expose our weaknesses on a daily basis. The work of the FBI is unmatched, and thus Congress must effectively and efficiently appropriate funding to match these overwhelming tasks. Director Patel, I look forward to this afternoon’s conversation on these matters, as well as a thorough discussion on the budget. Thank you, Chairman Rogers. I yield back.