Rep. Howard L. Berman Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2009 International Relations Budget

Political Transcript Wire › August 24, 2009

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Rep. Howard L. Berman Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2009 International Relations Budget

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOLDS A HEARING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2009 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BUDGET

FEBRUARY 13, 2008

SPEAKERS: REP. HOWARD L. BERMAN, D-CALIF. ACTING CHAIRMAN REP. GARY L. ACKERMAN, D-N.Y. DEL. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, D-AM. SAMOA REP. DONALD M. PAYNE, D-N.J. REP. BRAD SHERMAN, D-CALIF. REP. ROBERT WEXLER, D-FLA. REP. ELIOT L. ENGEL, D-N.Y. REP. BILL DELAHUNT, D-MASS. REP. GREGORY W. MEEKS, D-N.Y. REP. DIANE WATSON, D-CALIF. REP. ADAM SMITH, D-WASH. REP. RUSS CARNAHAN, D-MO. REP. RON KLEIN, D-FLA. REP. ALBIO SIRES, D-N.J. REP. LINDA T. SANCHEZ, D-CALIF. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, D-ARIZ. REP. JIM COSTA, D-CALIF. REP. JOHN TANNER, D-TENN. REP. LYNN WOOLSEY, D-CALIF. REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, D-TEXAS REP. RUBEN HINOJOSA, D-TEXAS REP. DAVID WU, D-ORE. REP. BRAD MILLER, D-N.C. REP. DAVID SCOTT, D-GA. REP. GENE GREEN, D-TEXAS REP. JOSEPH CROWLEY, D-N.Y.

REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, R-FLA. RANKING MEMBER REP. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, R-N.J. REP. DAN BURTON, R-IND. REP. ELTON GALLEGLY, R-CALIF. REP. DANA ROHRABACHER, R-CALIF. REP. ED ROYCE, R-CALIF. REP. STEVE CHABOT, R-OHIO REP. DONALD MANZULLO, R-ILL. REP. TOM TANCREDO, R-COLO. REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS REP. JEFF FLAKE, R-ARIZ. REP. MIKE PENCE, R-IND. REP. JOE WILSON, R-S.C. REP. JOHN BOOZMAN, R-ARK. REP. J. GRESHAM BARRETT, R-S.C. REP. CONNIE MACK, R-FLA. REP. JEFF FORTENBERRY, R-NEB. REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL, R-TEXAS REP. TED POE, R-TEXAS REP. BOB INGLIS, R-S.C. DEL. LUIS FORTUNO, R-P.R. REP. GUS BILIRAKIS, R-FLA. REP. ROY BLUNT, R-MO.

WITNESSES: SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

[*] BERMAN: The committee will come to order.

It's with real sadness and profound regret that I open the committee's review of the administration's international affairs budget request for fiscal year 2009.

I had hoped that our departed friend and colleague, Chairman Tom Lantos, would take the gavel in hand to guide us today.

Before we engage in this process, I'd like to ask everyone here today to stop and reflect on the man who, for the last year, has led our efforts to hold the executive branch to account, while also holding together the committee's respected tradition of bipartisan cooperation, even when we disagree.

The last three days have brought a cascade of tributes to our late friend, Tom Lantos, so many fine words coming from every quarter and corner of the world.

They are the heartfelt outpourings of the mighty and the small, heads of state and the humbled, too, along with the legions of Tom and Annette Lantos' fellow laborers in the vineyard of human rights.

Tom would have appreciated the eloquence of these countless accolades. He was so very well spoken himself. He would have reveled in their recognition of his hard work and that of his loving wife to build and to maintain the Congressional Human Rights Caucus over the last 24 years, and he would have been gratified, yet humbled by the sweeping accounts of his legislative achievements in fields as diverse as nuclear non-proliferation, environmental protection, and international scholarly exchange.

And, of course, history will remember Tom for his unwavering support of Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship. His life experience instilled in him a deep and abiding commitment to that tiny state, an island of democracy and a true partner of our country.

So please join me in a moment of silence to remember our friend and cherished colleague, the late and much loved chairman of this committee and a moral force whose voice will be terribly missed, Congressman Tom Lantos.

I also want to mention that Chairman Lantos attracted a wonderful staff, both in his personal office and on his committee. Their long service and their outstanding work bear testament to his leadership, and I want to express my condolences to them, as well as t his family.

And now on to business at hand. In the bipartisan spirit of rigorous and responsible oversight, befitting the memory of Chairman Lantos, we welcome Madam Secretary.

I strongly support, Madam Secretary, the administration's overall international affairs budget request for fiscal year 2009. It surpasses current spending by nearly $3 billion, a welcome ...

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