MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATEDIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDINGWASHINGTON, DC

SECRETARY POMPEO:Thank you very much. Today Im here to present the and testify about the Presidents 2021 Budget. It requests nearly $41 billion for the State Department and USAID, enabling both agencies to protect U.S. citizens, increase American prosperity, and advance the development of democratic societies. And critically, it reflects a commitment to the strategic, efficient use of resources to provide better results for the American people.

Thats the topline analysis. But I want to make a broader point that our diplomatic expenditures reflect Americas values:

Two weeks ago in Philadelphia I unveiled the report of the State Departments Commission on Unalienable Rights.

My message that day was simple: The Trump administration places our founding principles at the very core of American diplomacy.

Im going to talk about how weve done it in three areas:

First, securing the American peoples freedoms against authoritarian threats; securing American lives during the pandemic; and helping friends across the world secure those very unalienable rights.

On authoritarian threats, we have evaluated the world with the same realism that the American founders did.

We see the Islamic Republic of Iran for what it is: an aggressor, not a victim.

Weve gone full bore on our maximum pressure campaign.

Since May of 2018, weve slashed the vital oil revenues the regime uses for terrorism and illegal nuclear activities by 90 percent.

Weve rallied nations to our side through diplomacy witness the designations of Hizballah from European and South American countries.

And weve bolstered our military readiness vis-a-vis Tehran.

Theres more work to do. The Security Council must renew the UN arms embargo against Iran before it expires on October 18th.

Iran already mines ships in the Strait of Hormuz, launches missiles at Saudi oil facilities, and ships arms to the Houthis.

Should the Security Council fail to act, Iran will have a freer hand to sow destruction across the Middle East, and indeed the world.

Russia, too, is a destabilizing authoritarian force in Ukraine, in Libya, in Syria, and inside of Western democracies.

This administration has acted to protect our interests and our friends:

Weve issued the Crimea Declaration.

Weve supplied Ukraine with lethal military hardware.

Weve sanctioned more than 360 Russian targets for everything from human rights abuses, to supporting the murderous Assad regime, to operating mercenaries and proxy forces around the world.

And the State Departments FY 2021 request for the Global Engagement Center is $138 million more than double its current level. We wont tolerate disinformation and other propaganda directed by the Kremlin or any of our other adversaries.

Further on Russia: Two weeks ago, the State Department removed Nord Stream 2s exemption under CAATSA.

And in December, the administrations swift implementation of PEESA an important bipartisan endeavor effectively halted construction of the pipeline.

We are the toughest administration ever on Russia.

Most importantly, on China, we see the Chinese Communist Party also for what it is: the central threat of our times.

Our vigorous diplomacy has helped lead an international awakening to the threat of the CCP. Senators, the tide is turning:

Thirty-plus countries and territories have become 5G Clean Countries, banning untrusted vendors from their networks. When we talked about this some year ago, that number was in the single digits.

In our hemisphere, Canada has stood firm against the Chinese Communist Partys hostage-taking. Its three major telecom carriers have also banned untrusted vendors.

Belize and Haiti have denounced Beijings national security law targeting Hong Kong.

Denmark has rejected the CCPs attempted censorship of Danish newspapers.

Sweden has closed its Confucius Institutes.

Lithuanian intelligence services have identified China as a political a potential threat for the first time.

And in the region, in the Indo-Pacific, Australia declared Chinas South China Sea claims unlawful and illegitimate, as have we.

And were proud to have stepped up maritime maneuvers in that body of water alongside our friends from Australia and Japan and the United Kingdom.

India has banned 106 Chinese applications that threatened its citizens privacy and security.

Our diplomatic efforts are working, and momentum is building to mitigate the threats that the Chinese Communist Party presents.

All 10 ASEAN nations have insisted that the South China Sea disputes must be settled on the basis of international law, including UNCLOS.

Japan led the G7s condemnation of Chinas national security law targeting Hong Kong.

The EU condemned the law too, and also declared China a systemic rival just last year.

And weve agreed to start a dialogue channel focused solely on China at the EUs request.

At NATO, Secretary General Stoltenberg has called to make China a greater part of that alliances focus as well.

And we led a multilateral effort to ensure that the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization elected a director from a country that actually gave a darn about intellectual property rights.

And our Quad the United States, Australia, India, and Japan has been reinvigorated.

We have worked hard at this. Our diplomats have done wonderful work. Im very proud of the progress we are making.

In addition to these multilateral efforts, the Department of Justice is cracking down on Chinese IP threats.

Weve sanctioned Chinese leaders for their brutality in Xinjiang, imposed export controls on companies that support it, and warned U.S. businesses against using slave labor in their supply chains.

Weve terminated special treatment agreements with Hong Kong in response to the CCPs actions to deny freedom to the people of Hong Kong.

And we closed our consulate in Houston because it was a den of spies.

Our budget reflects these efforts, the reality on the ground. We requested nearly one and a half billion dollars for foreign assistance to the Indo-Pacific region, a 20 percent increase from the 2020 request. We want that part of the world to be free and open and prosperous.

And with that, Mr. Chairman, Ill close, and happy to take questions.

By U.S. Embassy Tbilisi | 30 July, 2020 | Topics: Key Officials, News from Washington | Tags: Democracy, Human Rights, Secretary Pompeo

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Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Fiscal Year 2021 State Department Budget Request - US Embassy in...