The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S5476-S5477 on Sept. 13, 2017.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL
Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, due to ongoing and urgent recovery efforts from Hurricane Irma, which devastated many parts of Florida, I am staying in my State to assess the damage and help marshal the full capacity of recovery resources available to us. Congress has passed authorizations for use of military force, AUMFs, that the President is using to fight the war on terror and conduct counterterrorism operations against our enemies. This includes the Islamic State, which the State Department recently reaffirmed is guilty of genocide, and other terrorist groups that continue to pose grave and persistent threats to the United States and our allies.
Paul amendment No. 871 would repeal these critical congressionally passed AUMFs, so I therefore oppose this amendment.
(At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)
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