WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor to condemn the Trump Administration’s rescissions package and chaotic dismantling of the U.S. diplomatic corps and foreign assistance programs, which she warned is empowering adversaries like China – as she laid out in this week’s SFRC minority report.
In her remarks, Ranking Member Shaheen outlined the lack of a coherent strategy to outcompete China and detailed how Trump Administration actions – from dismantling our diplomatic infrastructure to ceding the information space to China and launching a self-destructive trade war – have weakened America.
You can watch her remarks here.
Key Quotes:
“This rescissions package is no better and the substitute that we've seen so far is a gimmick. It claims to preserve funding for global health programs like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; for agricultural research; for the Countering PRC Influence Fund. But it doesn't actually restore those funds. So, a vote for the substitute is a vote to cut critical foreign assistance programs. And one thing is clear—while American diplomacy and foreign aid amount to less than 1% of our federal budget, the return on that investment delivers real dividends to American consumers and American businesses. As you can see, U.S. development assistance supports more than 100,000 U.S. jobs.”
“This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority released a report that highlights what cutting these programs does. This is the report, Mr. President—I think you’ve seen it in the committee. It’s called, ‘The Price of Retreat: America Cedes Global Leadership to China.’ What has been done in these foreign assistance programs helps China expand its influence. Through research and staff travel and meetings with NGOs and foreign officials, the report shows that the Trump Administration’s cuts to the State Department, to foreign assistance and to other programs directly threaten our national security and our prosperity. They severely undermine our ability to compete with our main adversary—China—and they do that in both the national security space and in the economic space.”
“Because whether we are combating unfair trade practices and the theft of intellectual property; or we’re stopping the flow of fentanyl into our communities; or protecting Americans from spying and cyberattacks; or helping U.S. companies stay ahead in developing batteries, electric vehicles and AI, the stakes are very high. And the threat to our prosperity and security is real. I don’t think most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda. But instead of strength and focus, what we’ve seen from this Administration is a chaotic, haphazard retreat from the global stage.”
“So, China’s not just looking at Africa, at the Indo-Pacific, they’re looking at countries that have been our traditional allies. And what’s the Administration doing? It’s suggesting that it’s going to close U.S. diplomatic posts in these same regions. China is eating our lunch when it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to the investments that we need to make around the world. And yet here we are, today, we’re considering a rescissions package that’s going to further benefit the Chinese Communist Party.”
“The good news is that despite the cuts, despite this Administration’s policies, there is still broad, bipartisan agreement that American leadership on the global stage is essential and that China’s expanding global footprint makes us less safe and less prosperous.”
The Ranking Member’s remarks, as delivered, are below.
Thank you, Mr. President. I come to the floor today as we consider a rescissions package that would cancel billions of dollars in foreign assistance. It would make permanent the cuts that were carried out by DOGE earlier this year. That was when this Administration gave Elon Musk the authority to put American foreign aid programs “through the woodchipper.” They justified those cuts by saying they would save money. But here we are six months later, not only have they passed a reconciliation bill that increases the national debt by more than $3 trillion dollars and that shifts the financial burden to state and local governments—in New Hampshire there is going to be a massive cost shift because of the passage of that bill. For all the talk about saving money, I don’t think DOGE has saved a dime.
Earlier this spring, CBS News reported that “The federal government has spent $200 billion more in its first 100 days this year than it did last year.” And according to the Partnership for Public Service, DOGE’s cuts could cost American taxpayers as much as $135 billion dollars this year alone. This rescissions package is no better and the substitute that we've seen so far is a gimmick.
It claims to preserve funding for global health programs like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; for agricultural research; for the Countering PRC Influence Fund. But it doesn't actually restore those funds. So, a vote for the substitute is a vote to cut critical foreign assistance programs. And one thing is clear—while American diplomacy and foreign aid amount to less than 1% of our federal budget, the return on that investment delivers real dividends to American consumers and American businesses. As you can see, U.S. development assistance supports more than 100,000 U.S. jobs.
This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority released a report that highlights what cutting these programs does. This is the report, Mr. President—I think you’ve seen it in the committee. It’s called, “The Price of Retreat: America Cedes Global Leadership to China.” What has been done in these foreign assistance programs helps China expand its influence. Through research and staff travel and meetings with NGOs and foreign officials, the report shows that the Trump Administration’s cuts to the State Department, to foreign assistance and to other programs directly threaten our national security and our prosperity. They severely undermine our ability to compete with our main adversary—China—and they do that in both the national security space and in the economic space. You know, Secretary Rubio said at his confirmation hearing that “…the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted is China.”
It’s true, the People’s Republic of China presents the United States with a strategic challenge that is distinct from any in our nation’s history. While our competition with China often seems distant from the United States, the reality is the outcome of this competition is deeply tied to our economy, to our security and to our lives here at home.
Because whether we are combating unfair trade practices and the theft of intellectual property; or we’re stopping the flow of fentanyl into our communities; or protecting Americans from spying and cyberattacks; or helping U.S. companies stay ahead in developing batteries, electric vehicles and AI, the stakes are very high. And the threat to our prosperity and security is real. I don’t think most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda.
But instead of strength and focus, what we’ve seen from this Administration is a chaotic, haphazard retreat from the global stage. Oh, they talk a good game on the danger China poses, but actions speak louder than words. And when it comes to confronting Beijing, this Administration has no consistent message and no coherent strategy. They are eliminating critical programs—disease surveillance and prevention, scientific research, disaster response. And now—now we just had a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and we talked about this—the Trump Administration is preparing to incinerate 500 tons of emergency food, 500 tons. And the cost of that food was $800,000—it’s already been paid for by taxpayers and it’s going to cost another 130,000 to incinerate it. So, talk about waste—that’s enough food to feed 1.5 million children for a week. Thanks to chaotic and inept decisions—cutting funding, firing staff, gutting key programs, American taxpayers are going to foot the bill for this, and children are going to go hungry.
These erratic, self-defeating policies are in stark contrast to what we’re seeing from the Chinese Communist Party, which has been sadly very clear and deliberate in its strategy. Because the PRC is playing the long game. It’s using tactics like disinformation, political interference, cyber-attacks and economic coercion.
Within days of cuts to foreign aid programs, China was already labeling the United States as an unreliable partner. And within months, Beijing was replacing programs we had cut. So, look at where we are today. You can look at the number of cuts to American embassies and consulates around the world. And while the Administration proposes slashing America's international affairs budget by 84%, China is boosting its diplomatic budget by 8%. As we cut diplomatic staff and consider embassy closures, China operates one of the world’s largest diplomatic networks with 278 missions. And while the U.S. shuts down networks like Radio Free Asia, China is spending billions on propaganda—expanding into 80 new frequencies and more languages.
Our first hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee at the beginning of this year was on China, and what we heard at that hearing was that the PRC and China is spending more than $1 billion a year on misinformation and disinformation campaigns. And what have we done in response? We’ve cut Radio Free Asia. We’ve cut those networks that provide information to the people who China is trying to manipulate.
So, while we’re cutting counternarcotics programs, China is working with Latin American countries to build law enforcement capacity. And as the Administration moves to defund international bodies like the UN, China has pledged $500 million to the World Health Organization. And you know, it’s so crazy, the Administration has been attacking universities like Harvard and saying that they’re not going to allow them to include any international students. And what’s Hong Kong doing, on behalf of the PRC? They’re offering places to talented STEM students who are looking to leave the United States. And while we threaten allies with tariffs, China is courting them—across Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. In May Xi Jinping hosted Brazil’s President and other Latin American leaders and pledged more than $9 billion dollars in investments.
I was with a group of Senators at the Paris Air Show earlier this year—it’s an exhibition that highlights the latest in aircraft and aerospace and military aircraft. And when we met with our embassy officials, they told us that they saw the biggest presence ever from China at that exhibition and that China has opened 3 new consulates in France and over 20 Confucius Institutes in France. So, China’s not just looking at Africa, at the Indo-Pacific, they’re looking at countries that have been our traditional allies. And what’s the Administration doing? It’s suggesting that it’s going to close U.S. diplomatic posts in these same regions.
China is eating our lunch when it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to the investments that we need to make around the world. And yet here we are, today, we’re considering a rescissions package that’s going to further benefit the Chinese Communist Party. Leaders across the political spectrum, Democrats and Republicans alike, have agreed—since I got to the United States Senate and I thought the Administration agreed with us—that the biggest threat to America’s security, both economic and national security is China, the People’s Republic of China. We need to come together. We need to make sure America doesn’t retreat from the global stage.
And the good news is that despite the cuts, despite the Administration’s policies, there is still broad, bipartisan agreement that American leadership on the global stage is essential and that China’s expanding global footprint makes us less safe and less prosperous.
So, to my colleagues here in Congress who are considering this rescissions package that would codify these cuts: Remember this—it’s not too late. We can move to reverse the damage that’s been done in the first six months. We can preserve America’s ability to lead, to compete and to shape the future on America's terms, not on the terms of the Chinese Communist Party.
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