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“DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E675-E676 on July 24, 2020.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
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speech of
HON. DAVID N. CICILLINE
of rhode island
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support for H.R. 7608, the State and Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021. This year's legislation includes a number of priorities that I have advocated for which will benefit my home state of Rhode Island, protect our environment, benefit families, serve our nation's veterans, and strengthen our national security. I would like to thank Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger, as well as the Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members for their work on this year's House legislation.
The State and Foreign Operations division makes important strides in strengthening our national security. For the past three and a half years, the Trump Administration has made us less safe. The State Foreign Operations and Related Agencies funding bill, however, would make the country, and Rhode Islanders, safer. Along with funds for diplomacy--something that the United States should be investing in, rather than making a mockery of--this bill invests in emergency appropriations for global coronavirus preparedness, response, and relief efforts. Because if we do not address the global pandemic, it will continue to come back to us.
In addition, this bill supports global reproductive health and family planning programs; and promotes equality for LGBTI people and people with disabilities. In particular, it contains my increase-decrease amendment to draw attention to the State Department's shameful attempt to turn back time and strip women and LGBTQI individuals of their civil and human rights.
Members of the House and Senate have now sent five letters to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing our strong, continued concern regarding the work of the Department of State's Commission on Unalienable Rights (``the Commission''), but we have received no reply. It is simply inexcusable that the Department of State would not respond in any way to our repeated oversight attempts, in particular as the Commission has proven time and time again that it could undermine our nation's ability to lead on critical human rights issues, including with respect to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and protections for millions of people globally in the LGBTQI community.
As a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee I am particularly disturbed that the Secretary has chosen to create the Commission rather than honor the advice of the State Department's Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which is vested with the authority to advise the Department on U.S. foreign policy related to human rights. I believe that the Department's strategic priorities should be guided by the Assistant Secretary, Congressionally mandated reporting on human rights, and well established and lasting human rights standards, rather than the Commission. By signaling, through the Commission's mandate and membership, a desire to place religious freedom above all other rights, the State Department is undermining commitments the United States has made abroad. Indeed, the Commission's actions create a risk that the United States will breach those legally binding obligations that do not align with the Commission's view of human rights. Further, the Commission's work could undermine priorities that the United States has encouraged other nations to adopt.
The Trump Administration has shown, time and time again, that it is unwilling to rein in the behavior of despots and dictators. We must not allow the Commission to give them permission to run roughshod over the human rights of even more people around the world.
The United States should be on the front lines of protecting human rights at home and abroad, including those guaranteeing SRHR and protections for millions of people globally in the LGBTQI community. Looking to ``natural law'' as a method of undermining long established human rights protections for minority groups and elevating religious freedom over other rights is both illegal and immoral.
The Agricultural, Rural Development, and Related Agencies division provides funding for important agricultural research. It is critical for Congress to support research and educational programs to ensure the United States remains a global leader in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture
(USDA-NIFA) and their Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) provide investments and grants in key areas of transformative research and development. This year's bill provides an additional $10 million above the enacted level for USDA-NIFA and AFRI, which will provide educational institutions with grants to continue work in key areas of transformative agricultural and food research. We must ensure that these institutions have the funding needed to continue their vital work and demonstrate our commitment to addressing agricultural challenges.
This year's Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies division will include a number of key priorities which will provide significant benefit to my home state. This bill increases funding for the Operation of the National Park System (ONPS) by $200 million from the 2020 Fiscal Year. An increase for ONPS funding will allow for continued development and maintenance of the Blackstone Valley National Historic Park, which commemorates and preserves the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.
The bill also provides an increase for the Southern New England Estuaries Geographic Program. This critical program engages with stakeholders in my home state, and throughout Southern New England, to preserve our region's estuaries, which provide significant and economic benefit. It also helps to preserve fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and helps to manage the impacts of human activity along our coastline.
I also strongly support this bill's commitment to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The increased funding for NEA and NEH will boost Rhode Island's arts economy, and support our renowned community of artists.
I was also very glad to see this year's Interior and Environment appropriation will continue to restrict the issuing of new oil and gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf. Rhode Island's ocean economy generates more than $2 billion annually, and supports more than 41,000 jobs in industries such as commercial fishing, tourism, and other recreational activities. Expansion of oil and gas drilling off the coast Rhode Island, and throughout New England, would devastate our local ocean economy, destroy critical marine habitats, and continue to exacerbate the effects of climate change.
Finally, in this year's Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies division, the committee took significant steps to strengthen suicide prevention programs for our nation's veterans. In particular, this bill provides $313 million for Suicide Prevention Outreach programs. It will also ensure that $115 million for the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), a dedicated toll-free hotline for veterans experiencing mental health crises and thoughts of suicide, is available in FY21. This amounts to a $4 million increase for the VCL from the 2020 level. It is estimated that each day 20 American veterans take their own life. We owe it to the brave men and women who have served our nation in uniform to ensure that they have the best mental health care and available services for them when they return home.
I thank you for the opportunity to express my support for H.R. 7608, and I urge passage by the entire House of Representatives.
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