system of justice without thise. >> do you have any reaction to the americans being held? [laughter] announcer: coming up tonight on c-span, secretary of state antony blinken testifying on u.s. diplomacy and global challenges. then house ranking rules member jim mcgovern chastised after comments he made on the businese white house. later first lady jill biden giving a preview of the upcoming state dinner in honor of the kenyandent announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government.

we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more than that. >> contest is partnering withnts from low income families can get that was they need to be ready for anything. anr: comcast supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a froseat. announcer: secretary of state antony blinken testified on u.s. diplomacy, global challenges, and the president's5 dget request. the president's recent decision to withhold military weapons■@ israel, chinese nationals entering the southern borderukr.

>> your mic is on private. the . is it working now?■z >> now we are good. the purposeg is to discuss the state department's fy25 budget request i fts diplomats around of the globe. i now recognize myself for the opening st and exorof

challenges facing the united states and its diplomats around the globe. myself for the opening statement.you for being here today. as you know, we are living in dangerous times. is the largest land invasion in europe since middle east is on the brink of a full-scale war and crchina is testing our resolve as they look to invade taiwan. the similarities between a war in europe and increased greson are dangerously parallel to the events leading up to world war ii. ia ar destroy freedom and democracy. weakness invites aggression and are adversaries see that. it all began with the fall of

afghanistan. it was catastrophic and will remain a stain on american foreign policy for ne despite warnings from the dod and intelligence community, the state department, mr. secretary failed in its execution. weakness on the world we saw the satellite imagery of the russian federation si troops on the ukrainian border. then we failed to provide the ukrainians with the assistance th nthe

invasion. out of fear the russians, the administration slow ons necessary for ukraine to win giving them just enough to bleed out but not for victory. a fear of provocation bound american foreign policy, the nazis never would've been defeated. the berlin wall would still elaa cuba. american leadership must never be dictated by the whims of despots. that's why ve the administration and the supplemental bill send long- range weapon systems to ukraine as soon as possible to ensure a victory. when it comes to china, we have failed to establish deterrence necessary to counter the threat of the ccp. we now know that china is supporting the russia defense

inse. failure to project strength on the world stage has only led to an increasingly hostile china. weapons i signed off on five years ago for taiwan to be delivered to that country. i am also disappointed that the president failed to certify exemptions on the april 19 deadline. this trilateral partnership as you know is key to he is watching. i believe he is the only one satisfied with this administrati finally, we are the brink of a total destabilization in the middle east. israel is in a fight for its e terrorist threat of hamas, hezbollah, and iran. rinhtheidarkest hour what did this administration do? they turned its back on our all withhold weapons proved --

approved and appropriated by this congress is tantamount to this administration is preventing israel from their final key militaryobking out th maximum pressure on iran and its proxies. by not enforcing energy sanctions iran has over 80 billin revenue. we have appeased the ayatollah and funded his operations including their attack israel directly which they did for the first time sto on the world stage# administration has invited increased aggression. so why is it after th administration came into office that we have a war in ukraine. a war in the middle d a potential war in the

limiting our ability to win they did not start. mr. secretary, redlines are for enand friends. you go back to chamberlain, churchill. we know that appeasement only c and war. church hill proved that to us. ronald reagantaught us peace through strength. i believe it is time we returned to e reagan doctrine of peace through strength. with that, i yelled the balance of my time. otmecommittee are reminded that opening statements be be submitted for the record. we are pleased to have the of state antony blinken before us today. your full statement will be made part of the record. i ask that you keep your remarks to five minutes. will enforce the gavel with

all members so l members can participate. with that i now recognize secretary blinken for his opening statement.very muchmr, chairman. it is very good to be with you today. thank you for thity to testify. i think you also for the partnership we have had to advance american leadership inw leadership that is so essential to delivering on the priorities that matter to our people. the need for global leadership and the ne cooperation and collaboration of allies and partners has never been greater. we have the geopolitical preeminence chng our vision for a free, open and secure process. it is not only against ukrathe we try tothat are the building blocks for global peace and

security. in the middle east we are standing with israel to ensure that what would happen on october 7 never happens again as we do everything we can to bring to end the suffering in gaza and prevent the conflict from spreading. eredto address humanitarian crises elsewhere including in other places where millions have been displa have been killed but also to address global issuth country can solve alone such as food insecurity, changing the climate, presidential corruption, the fentanyl crisis. with the support of congress we can and we approaching these challenges from a position of strength. because o the united states a stronger economically, diplomatically than it was a few years ago. we have made historic investments at ho we have renewed alliances, built new ones,secured unprecedented alignment on the

challenges of our time. we have deliiall to ukraine. the united states rallied 50 countries around the world to make sure d not be erased from the map. we have rallied the atiol community to share the burden. for every dollar we ha others have collectively invested three more. now any doubt of bipartisan support for ukraine and others can endure. last month congress demonstrated to the world that we will and you passed the budget request by an overwhelming marginment does no with the expense of strength here at home. far from it. mobeing spent in stri base states building up supporting good american jobs.■7 we need to keep up the momentum th department budget that will fully resource the response to the challenges of this time. of the president's fy 25 budget it does that in twkeyways.

first, it funds the essential will ensure that the united states continues to be the part countries when they need to solve big problems that also affect ow economic well-being. in an era of renewed co ne to present the strongest possible that is relevant and responsive to the needs and advances our security economic interest. that is why we are reques $2 billion for a new fund to infrastructure around the world. crucial investments like these create good jobs here in america. we are requesting resources for the world bank. llioin u.s. funding we can unlock another $36 billion capacity to direct to the top priorities of emerging economies. it's an enormous return on ve and essential for competing with china and around

the world. it also includes $1.7 million for organizations to help shape ththat reflectour interest in values. we are asking for $500 million to give more people around the internet, digital technologies. doing so will support our own economy through the export of technology products in the to ensure that we and our fellow democracies remain the leadersand standardbearers when it comes to key technologies like artificial intelligence. the budget includes funding to address global issues that affect the lives and livelihoods of the american people as well as around the world.ug crisis. it also funds our response to migration, global food insecurity, health and gy security. problems that may be taking place in other parts of the world but we know what happens on the far end of the world will come back to bi is not addressed and addressed effectively including with our engagement.

fund the educational and fully cultural stages. cost-effective tools that we have for enhancing our valuents researchers, young professionals studying at home and abroad. we need to guard against attempts bympto spread disinformation and misinformation around the world. global engagement center is critical. it is a critical tool for capturing the threat of on by china, russia, and others and we urge you extend the sunsetting clause before the coming months. mpe our rivals w need to invest in the foundation of our strength abroad and the diplomatic corps . the budget makes a strong investment in expanding our overseas presence in the pacifiisbbean. we will continue our modernization of american diplomacy. we very -- have reorganize the department to make sure that we

this time whether that comes to dealing with new technologies, investments to try to attract e andmaintain the most talented workforce possible. we are investing in our people in washin with training and technology. we are honing my agility, innovation, and efficiency. last year's enacted budget represented a 5% cut from the . that challenges our effo deliver results to congress and the american people. we are urging you to support this budget with helps to address the most pressing foreign policy alums of our time and lays the da continue the strong engagement and leadership in the years ahead. thank you and i look forward to >> thank you. as you know we have been condtiion into the afghanistan withdraw. we will be releasing a of that in september. will you

commit to appearing before this committee for a hearinon the afghanistan. we have had the top brass of the pentagon and i think the goldstar families deserve thatas well. >> mr. chairman, for the ldst f president, for me, for everyone involved, we grieve withem. the losses they suffer including over 20 years in afghanistan. we honor their sacrifice. one of the ways do that is by taking part in oversight, answering questions, giving th american people the answers they deserve. we have engaged in very good faith in this. i thin cot we have facilitated transcribed interviews with 15 current and former-- >> my time is limited. is that a yes? >> i have appeared before this committee five times including

afghanistan but another time taking questions. thatisany of my predecessors have done. >> we look forward to your testimony in september. >> we have our teams talk about that. thank you. >> you testified before the senate foreign relations committee yesterday that yo denounced the arrest warrants against israel's leaders and committed to workin to find an appropriate response speaker and the ranking member and others in the senate on potential proposed legislation to address the issue. will you commit to working with this committee to find a bipartisan bill thatace meaningful sanctions on the e decision was totally wrong in any equivalents that apply between hamas and israel and

its leerwere shameful. mmitto e bipartisan basis and finding an appropriate response. >> i completely agree with you israel conducted a major military operation in rafah that we are not going to provide weapons and artillery . is this l the stance and what to you plan to withhold? >> first, nobody's done more annobody will do more to make sure israel can defend itself. he was there days after the go to israel when it was under attack. in the time after that he made assets to deter any further aggression from other borders which was very much a threat. >> we all know the history of it. withhold weapons. >>so important to note

attack for the first time. ed >> we actively took part for the first time ever in israel's ns rally the coalition. >> that does not answer my >> i am happy to do that, mr. chairman. when it comes to rafah we have made known for a long timeour concerns about a military assault and the damage that could do to the civilian pution credible plan to protect it. we and israel both want which is to deal effectively and directly with hamas. in that context particularly wiregard to 2000 pound bombs which in a dense ba ■s environment can do terrible damage we've been in discussions with israel about diussions continue. on in those they are private discussions. they continue and our concerns ablitary

assault in rafah remain. we have other dealing with the challenge posed that we believe can be more effective and more durable. >> let me just ask you this. we did not find out about withholding the weapons until he saw the interview on cnn. ver tified of this decision. we just marked up a bill out of that requires advance notification. if you decide to withhold more wes israel which i would say was the intent of congress when wethe ss supplemental and when i approved these weapons, would you at least give us advance notification. >> have gone out of our way and well above and beyond in previewing for congress-- >> i had no notification nor did anyone in this committee or congress until he saw president on cnn. that is hardly an adequate native way to notify lastly, ukraine. we have a really bad situation going on as you know.

this is a sanctuary zone that ians have created. what they are doing is lining up all of their artillery and rockets an just across the ukraine border that they then use ukrainians. however, the administration have restricted arms use so that ukraine cannot defend itself and fire back at russia. supplemental the long-range, short range and high mars that your administration is tying their hands behind their back not unlike what you are trying to do in israel. will you change is policy so hand its back? ht without one >> as you know we have rallied 50 countries over the last two years to come to e defense of ukraine and provide them with the weapons they need to defend themselves against russian on when it comes to enabling and

endorsing the attacks outside of ukraine, that is not something we have done but ukraine will have to and will cisions and i want to make sure they get the equipment that they need. >> congress got them the equipment. thank you for implementi restrictions on the use of these weapons. it is jake sullivan and your admitionthat has but the restrictions on these weapons. i talked to them and they cannot achieve victory with these restrictions that you, not the congress have placed on th. i hope that you will take that back to the national security advisor and the national security this policy decision that is very dangerous and dama the ukrainian people. my time i w recognize mr. sherman. >> secretary, thank you for being here and presenting budget request which i strongly

support. -- did more for america than any other foreigner yet he remains in jail in pakistan. all-americans are dedicated to his ree dedicated enough to agree with pakistan for a trwould hope tha urge the administration to make i am confident the pakistanis would accept obviously they should release him without conditions. it very hard to ask any other non-american to cooperate thunited states when the person who did the most for us remains in jail. i hope that you would also direct the u.s. ambassador to albania moour continued concern for those who

this particularly relevant because the president of iran died. well summer morning there passing waally responsible for the deaths of including many who are the ns family members of those who are in the camp. 30,000 people apparently have died in gaza. peha or more are civilians. congress you with $9.1 billion in humanitarian ai but there's other things going on around e 300,000 died in darfur decades ago. now we see a new genocide in darfur. where tens of thousands have be looking at the rest of sudan, 18 million people face acute 600,000 have died over the

few years and now millions of ngsee 7.1 million people displaced. 1.2 million are in camps in bangladesh. countries have not contributed enough for their food and therefore the world food 30 gram has reduced rations by the entire population of the republic oft sock has been ethnically cleansed and now lives as refugees. can you commit that -- hopey this is just a answer. can you commit that when you humanitarian aid you will do so on the basis of where is the gr conflicts get the most publicity. >> yes. >> thank you.

people that think the middle east is as bat true. iran has a clear weapons program i'm sure my colleagues will ask you about. i want to focus on saudi ia from the 1970s where the shaw was states and every weapon sys he had was in the hands of the ayatollahs by the end of the decade. saudi arabia will want to nuclear cooperation agreement with the united states. can you comm you will not send up to congress a th sa arabia that does not include the additional protoc and does not meet the gold standard that we in the uae nuclear cooperation agreement. >> any nuclear cooperation agreement that we reach will have to address all of our

nonproliferation goals and we want to be sure that of we have gold standard deals with whoever we reach these agreements. >> thank u. hamas had allied organizations. there is also the popular had resistance committees. the third-biggest terrorist organization based in g that is foreigrr i wonder if you can commit to either designating them asfto or otherwise as a terrorist or such as a eciay designated g terrorist or at least get back to the commit30 days and tell us why you have not done so? >> i'm happy to come back to you. we are always looking to see prn r whatever tools we can. >> they are proud participants in the killing of 1200 israelis on and they have killed americans.

they meet more than all the expired. we now recognize mr. smith for five minutes and then we will r we have two votes on the floor. >> thank you. last friday i ch fourth congressional hearing. this within the year on th u.n. relief agency. it's decade-long complicity in - semitic hate with the focus on the so-called independent u.n. review. i have read the report very carefully. our witnesses including the former general counsel james lindsay, he was the general thstrongest terms, do not us in give them money. he used to be that guy. now he is not. the executive director of you i the colonial review was not■sv#

independent. the verdict was determined in advance and pointed out all the s rest of people and players. it was very narrowly focused just on october 7. even there it whitewashed. about the only thing to come at was any good was to say that it does not fit employee connections or sympesor islamic jihad. 21 years ago in 2003 i offered an amendmentto redirect that money away to other entities that could be vetted to non-anti-semitism. this year my legislation to was by this committee. it completely prohibits any u.s. contributions. it made however, that nothing inth act may be construed for humanitarian assistance to any agency or entity as ng you certify that it does not promote, espouse, or affiliate

that promote violence or terrorism or -sm and does not pl affiliated with such entities or individuals. in march the bipartisan foreign biitabsolutely clear on the house and sena until march 25, 2025. my question is are these u.s. re already in the pipeline or maybe coming in from other s. secondly, can you ensure the committee that the biden administration investigation will be in depth, a top bottom review from the moment your administration announced it and when thannounced it they say they do such a look. they are not going to see much. they know that 12 to le committed atrocities but unfortunately it has been a child-abuse factory turnin wonderful kids into child

soldiers by implicated in them hatred toward the wish state. so when is your report cong. hopefully it will be very comprehensive.few things on thi first of all, we do pp implementation of the recommendations in that report. we think those are important. second, there is a separate investigation going on this is a u.n. internal report about the participation of in the horrific events of october 7. we awt l that together along with our own hard look. of course we are abiding by the law. no other funds >> any plan to the near future?

>> no. i will tell you we do have a difference of you because for all of the manifestproblems and deficiencies it is also been playing an absolutely critical and in ways at least in the near term irreplaceable role in providing assistance for people who desperately need it. else has a infrastructure nobody else has■ there needs to be a way to make sure one way or another that that assistance gets to people who desperately need it. lo at for the future, but in the near- term i have to tell you weessen we are not and will not provide that fundin thank you. i have written the law named after david goldman. here i gave him a letter asking him to engage. would ask the ad i would ask the president. he met with people, who have been abducted to north korea.

a big n is what about our own children that have en abducted? finally the world health assembly violating their own rules about pandemic treaty which is rife for ratification? >> thank you. on child abduction am with you. i applaud what you are doing and your leadership on this. when we have countries not abiding or otherwise engaging in practices that are keeping children away from their parents this is something we take acti on. i always welcome working with you on that. secondquickly on the pandemic agreement, the way things stand right now i do not see that comingtoconclusion in the near-term. there is just not consensus on