BREAKING: Antony Blinken Repeatedly Interrupted By Protesters During Testimony At Senate Hearing

4 months ago

Sec. Antony Blinken was repeatedly interrupted by protesters on Tuesday while testifying in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Graham, Vice-Chair Collins, Chair Murray, very good to be with

00:08all of you today on this committee.

00:11I thank you.

00:12I thank you for the opportunity to testify before you.

00:19I recognize people feel passionately we must have order in this room.

00:25We are going to proceed with this hearing.

00:31Mr. Secretary, you may resume.

00:33Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:35I want to thank you also for your partnership in working together to advance American leadership

00:39in the world, leadership that's so essential for delivering on the priorities that matter

00:44to our people at home.

00:46I think the need for our global leadership and cooperation with allies and partners.

00:52This will suspend until the room is cleared of protesters.

01:04Mr. Secretary, you may proceed.

01:05Chairman, thank you.

01:06As I was saying, the need for our leadership and cooperation with allies and partners has

01:10never been greater.

01:13People's Republic of China is pursuing military, economic, and geopolitical preeminence, challenging

01:18our vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous international order.

01:23Russia is committing aggression not only against Ukraine, but against the principles at the

01:28heart of the UN Charter – independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty – that

01:32are the building blocks for global peace and security.

01:35In the Middle East, we're standing with Israel in its efforts to ensure that what

01:37happened on October 7th never happens again, as we do everything we can to bring to an

01:42end the terrible UN suffering in Gaza and prevent the conflict from spreading.

01:47U.S. leadership is needed to address humanitarian crises elsewhere around the world.

01:55Witness may suspend until we can clear the room.

02:05Mr. Secretary, you may resume.

02:07Thank you.

02:09Our leadership is needed to address humanitarian crises elsewhere around the world, including

02:13in Sudan, in Haiti, where millions have been displaced, many killed, and to address global

02:18issues that no country can solve alone, including food security, the changing climate, transnational

02:23corruption, and the fentanyl crisis.

02:26But with the support of Congress, we can and we are approaching these challenges from a

02:30position of strength.

02:32Because of the actions we've taken, the United States is stronger economically, diplomatically,

02:36militarily than we were a few years ago.

02:39We've made historic investments here at home in our competitiveness, in our innovation,

02:43in our infrastructure.

02:44We've renewed our alliances.

02:45We've built new ones.

02:46We've secured unprecedented alignment with key partners in Europe, in Asia, and beyond.

02:52We've delivered essential American aid to Ukraine.

02:54And we've rallied the international community to share the burden.

02:58For every dollar that we've spent in economic and development assistance, others have collectively

03:02invested three more.

03:04Now, many doubted that bipartisan support for Ukraine and other urgent national security

03:09priorities could endure.

03:11But last month, Congress demonstrated – demonstrated to the world that we would not pull back.

03:17You passed the President's supplemental funding bill by an overwhelming margin and

03:20on a bipartisan basis.

03:22Our investment abroad does not come at the expense of our strength at home.

03:25Far from it.

03:27Most of the supplemental is being spent here in the United States, building up our own

03:31defense industrial base, supporting thousands of American jobs.

03:35We need to keep up this momentum, and that requires a State Department and a budget that

03:39we fully resource so that we can meet the challenges of our time.

03:43And I think, as Senator Graham put it, in effect, an ounce of prevention is well worth

03:49more than a pound of cure.

03:50And we know that if we don't get these problems on the takeoff, we're going to have to deal

03:54with them on the landing, but in much more costly and difficult ways.

03:58The FY25 budget that the President is putting forward, requesting $58.8 billion to the State

04:02Department and USAID, does this in two ways.

04:05First, it funds the essential missions of our department and USAID.

04:10The budget will ensure that the United States continues to be the partner of choice that

04:13countries can turn to when they need to solve big problems, but problems that also affect

04:18us.

04:19In an era of renewed great power competition, we've got to present the strongest possible

04:23offer, one that is relevant and responsive to countries' needs and that advances our

04:27security and economic interests.

04:30That's why, for example, we're requesting $2 billion for a new fund to build high-quality,

04:34sustainable infrastructure around the world.

04:36Crucially, these kinds of investments create jobs for Americans and expand markets for

04:40our businesses overseas.

04:42We're requesting resources for the World Bank.

04:45With $1 billion in U.S. funding, we can unlock another $36 billion in development fund capacity

04:50to direct to the top priorities of emerging economies.

04:54That's a huge return on our investment and essential, again, for competing with China

04:58around the world.

04:59The budget also includes $1.7 billion for international organizations, including the

05:03United Nations, APEC, the Inter-American Development Bank, to help shape them in ways that reflect

05:08our interests and values.

05:10We're asking for $500 million to give more people around the world access to secure internet

05:14and digital technologies.

05:16Doing so will support the U.S. economy through the export of our technology products.

05:20It will help us ensure that we and our fellow democracies remain the leaders and standard

05:25setters in key technologies like artificial intelligence.

05:29The budget includes funding to address global issues that affect the lives and livelihoods

05:32of the American people, as well as people around the world, especially the synthetic

05:36drug crisis.

05:37It also funds our response to a regular migration, global food insecurity, public health, climate,

05:42and energy security.

05:43And again, if these problems are not addressed up front, inevitably they're going to have

05:47an impact on us down the road.

05:50We're also asking Congress to fully fund the State Department's educational and cultural

05:53exchanges.

05:54These are really one of our best and most cost-effective tools for advancing U.S. values

05:58and interests around the world, and they support the students, the researchers, the young professionals

06:02from our communities who study and work abroad.

06:05To outcompete our strategic rivals, we also need to invest in the foundation of our strength

06:09abroad, our diplomatic corps.

06:11And that's the second pillar of the budget.

06:13Our budget makes a strong investment in expanding our overseas presence, opening posts in the

06:16Pacific Islands, the Eastern Caribbean.

06:19It will also continue our modernization of American diplomacy.

06:23We are reorganizing the department to make sure that it is ready to face the challenges

06:27of this time.

06:29We're attracting and working to retain the best possible talent.

06:33We're investing in our people in Washington and in posts overseas with training, with

06:36technology.

06:37We're promoting more agility, more innovation, more efficiency in the processes that we bring

06:41to bear.

06:42Last year's enacted budget level represented a 5 percent cut from the year before.

06:47That challenges our efforts to deliver the results that Congress and the American people

06:51deserve.

06:52So I urge you to support this budget, which helps us address the most pressing foreign

06:55policy priorities for the coming year and lays the foundation for strong American leadership

07:00in the years beyond.

07:02With that, I'm happy to take any questions.

07:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

07:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

BREAKING: Antony Blinken Repeatedly Interrupted By Protesters During Testimony At Senate Hearing

Category

Transcript

Recommended