    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1442-S1443]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                              TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

      Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to make a
    simple point: The law cannot be in the eye of the beholder. The law is
    the law. But yet again, we are seeing the Trump administration break
    the law.
      Many of us have been closely following the Trump administration's
    illegal freeze of congressionally appropriated funding, including of
    foreign aid not just from the State Department but also from USAID, the
    African Development Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation, and
    other independent Agencies. Each of those Agencies' existence as an
    independent entity has long been enshrined in statute and reaffirmed by
    bipartisan majorities in both Chambers year after year in annual
    appropriations.
      Our appropriations law also explicitly requires the administration to
    notify and consult with Congress before undertaking any efforts to
    reorganize, realign, or downsize foreign affairs Agencies, as the
    sweeping reductions in force issued last week and many other brazen
    actions we have seen clearly seek to do.
      The administration's actions, including firing the USAID inspector
    general and the State IG, will make waste and fraud more likely, will
    prevent even foreign assistance programs allegedly supported by the
    administration from being effectively implemented, and will also
    effectively block hundreds of millions of dollars for other programs
    enacted into law by bipartisan majorities. Needless to say, the Trump
    administration has not consulted or notified Congress about these
    changes. That is in violation of the law.
      This week, they took a further step. The Trump administration has
    chosen to spit in the face of the law and Congress, expressing total
    disdain for a court order mandating they release the foreign aid
    funding they had illegally withheld. When finally told they must
    comply, Secretary Rubio personally approved the termination of 90
    percent of the USAID programs and 60 percent of State Department
    programs virtually overnight. They terminated more than $58 billion in
    multiyear programs and have told us they have no intention of utilizing
    those funds.
      The termination of those awards is absolutely not what Congress
    intended. Congress appropriated the funding on a bipartisan basis with
    the express intent to see those dollars spent. This is not trivial
    stuff. We are talking about resources that often mean the difference
    between life and death, resources that are imperative not just because
    they are lifesaving but because they are an investment in our own
    national security and in U.S. businesses.
      Let's take Ebola, for example. USAID helps other countries around the
    world respond to and contain Ebola outbreaks. That is pretty darn
    important because there is no known cure for Ebola.
      Thanks to the good work of USAID, along with our international
    partners--often supported by USAID awards--we have never had an Ebola
    outbreak here at home.
      Yesterday, at President Trump's Cabinet meeting, Elon Musk even
    admitted that, yes, we want to fight Ebola. Of course, then he said
    they ``accidentally'' cut USAID's Ebola prevention efforts but that it
    had been ``restored'' with no ``interruption.''
      Yet we know for a fact that is a lie. U.S.-based companies
    implementing these programs received termination notices yesterday. Any
    basic accounting of USAID's capacity to stop outbreaks abroad shows
    quite plainly any disease prevention efforts supported by the United
    States at this point are merely symbolic. You cannot break the
    foundation of public health systems overseas and expect that it won't
    have a damaging impact here at home.
      This makes America less safe. If Ebola, Marburg, or any other
    infectious disease makes it to our shores, it will be thanks to Elon
    and Trump--two billionaires without a clue who are positively smug
    about their own ignorance.
      But it is not just our infectious disease response that has now been
    gutted--everything from resources to help prevent kids from getting
    malaria to aid for refugees in war-torn places like Syria, where it is
    directly in our national security interests to foster stability.
      It is not just resources from faraway places. This will hit home in
    blue and red States. U.S. universities in my home State, in Indiana, in
    Florida, in Texas, and other States have had their partnerships
    terminated.
      American students from across our country who are now participating
    in exchange programs overseas are impacted by this. To put it into
    perspective for my colleagues, 5,800 of 6,300 USAID grants and
    contracts are being terminated. That is 9 out of 10. That is not to
    mention 4,100 of 6,800 State Department grants and contracts.
      The only detail we have is from the NGO's faith-based organizations
    and U.S. contractors sending these termination notices to our
    committee. We do not have one shred of detail from the State
    Department, not one shred.
      The scale is staggering, and it shows you that this administration's
    scheme

    [[Page S1443]]

    is to bulldoze right through restraining orders and court orders so
    that by the time the law does catch up with them, the damage will have
    been done. Compliance is easy at that point. What is left to fix once
    you have burned everything to the ground?
      This administration knows full well they are breaking the law. They
    are showing us all in plain view their goal is to do irreparable
    damage, as much as possible, as fast as possible.
      Well, I am here today to sound the alarm because this illegal power
    grab is in direct violation of congressional intent and appropriations
    laws.
      The Supreme Court should act with haste to bring this administration
    to account and ensure that money Congress appropriated gets to where it
    was intended. Whether it is President Trump or Elon Musk or the
    Secretary of State calling the shots, Congress has no visibility into
    DOGE's actions, frustrating our ability to write funding bills when
    government funding runs out in weeks.
      By ignoring the law and congressional intent, the administration has
    created chaos; they have eroded trust in the United States; and they
    made way for Russia and China to take advantage of this leadership
    vacuum.
      No one should fall for this thin veneer about efficiency while this
    administration racks up legal fees, overdue payments to contractors,
    pays people not to work, and forces a global recall of staff.
      We have a process to avoid this kind of chaos: The President submits
    his or her budget request to Congress. Congress holds hearings
    publicly, writes and passes bills that become law. We have explicit
    notification and consultation requirements for foreign assistance
    funding for a reason.
      Do I need to march down to the National Archives? Do I need to make
    sure we still have a Constitution? Do I need to check whether the laws
    we passed are even still there or did they start running them through a
    shedder? Because as blatant and persistent as it has been, no one--no
    one--should expect this kind of lawlessness to fade away.
      I cast my votes, and I speak on this floor as a voice for the people
    of the State I represent, Washington State. I was not elected to let
    the President of any party or some unaccounted billionaire decide how
    their tax dollars get spent.
      Every Senator here should speak loudly with one unified voice:
    Congress holds the power of the purse. No President can unilaterally
    abolish an entire Agency or ignore our appropriations laws.
      I yield the floor.

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