Diaz-Balart Remarks at National Security and Department of State Outside Witness Day Hearing

Good morning.  I want to welcome you all to the Subcommittee’s Outside Witness Hearing for Fiscal Year 2026. 

Yesterday we heard from several Members of Congress on their priorities and requests for the FY26 bill.  I’d like to reiterate a couple points I made at the Member Day Hearing. When I took over as Chairman of this subcommittee in 2023, it became clear that the Biden Administration was recklessly pushing controversial and divisive policies abroad. I repeatedly warned Biden officials—privately and publicly—that funding such a radical agenda was not only contrary to U.S. interests but would also jeopardize the public’s support for foreign assistance.

Now, we’re witnessing the fallout from this, and the question is—where do we go from here? As we work through the FY26 cycle, we must get back to basics.  My expectation is to fund effective, accountable programs that support our national security.  Many of you here today are instrumental in that effort. So, I want to thank you, including all the people who make up the organizations you represent, for your efforts to further key priorities and policy goals that all Americans can be proud to support. I look forward to listening to each of your remarks and insights as we begin the Fiscal Year 2026 process. 

Given the significant interest in participating in this hearing, there will be other organizations represented through their submission of testimony for the record.  I’d like to remind our witnesses present here today to please summarize your remarks within 3 minutes, as your full testimony will be included in the record. We have limited time and a lot of participants to get through, so I will be using the gavel and keeping time to ensure that we stay on schedule.  Now I would like to turn to my friend and colleague, Ranking Member Frankel, for her opening remarks.