Supporting H.R. 7006

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the FY2026 Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.

Due to the perseverance of my colleagues, Ranking Members DeLauro, Hoyer, and Frankel, the legislation before us protects funding for Democratic priorities, reasserts Congress's power of the purse, and rejects Republicans' poison pill riders.

The fiscal year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations bill upholds U.S. leadership abroad and invests into vital programs that support humanitarian aid, development, and democracy building. This bill, while imperfect, rebukes President Trump's attacks on foreign aid by allocating $5.5 billion for humanitarian assistance, $9.4 billion to support the State Department's Diplomatic Programs, and $3.5 billion for global health programs that support maternal and child health and fighting infectious diseases. All of these areas were cut significantly in the President's budget and the House Republican appropriations bill. In addition to the improvements made to humanitarian assistance programs, this bill also makes strides in international conservation and environmental programs. The conferenced agreement removes Republican policy riders that would have prohibited any funding to the Green Climate Fund, the Clean Technology Fund, and implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, and saved the Global Environment Facility from elimination.

The fiscal year 2026 Financial Services and General Government bill provides critical assistance to small businesses in the Twin Cities by rejecting cuts to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The CDFI Fund promotes economic development in distressed urban, rural, and tribal communities. CDFIs leverage capital from the CDFI Fund to catalyze investment in the Twin Cities that grows our small businesses, develops housing units, increases access to financial services, and creates jobs. Over the past year, President Trump has proposed eliminating the CDFI Fund, has fired CDFI Fund staff, and withheld funding that Congress appropriated intended for our small businesses. As Trump administration and ICE are terrorizing our community and small businesses, it is more important than ever that the CDFI Fund remain fully funded to assist small business owners as our community rebuilds after this crisis.

While these bills were not ideal, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan agreement.

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