[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 131 (Friday, July 24, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E675-E676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               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,

[[Page E676]]

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.

                          ____________________