Transcripts For CSPAN Secretary Of State Pompeo Testifies On 2021 Budget Request - Part 1 20240712

Germany, the may firing of the state departments Inspector General, and President Trumps recent tweet on possibly delaying the 2020 election. Hearingeign relations is almost three hours. Good morning, everyone. Today we have with us secretary of state mike pompeo to discuss the state departments fiscal year 2021 budget request. Any judge,history is secretary pompeo will face a wide variety of questions that extend beyond the departments budget, which i know you can handle. The u. S. And our allies and partners continue to face serious foreign challenges that will test us for decades to come. Chineseder the communist party is our chief competitor and russia is a key adversary. The efforts of these nations to sow discord, wreak havoc, and undo the free and open International Order upon which shared prosperity and security are built have reached new heights. They have stepped up disinformation and manipulated international institutions, suppressed voices of freedom and democracy, propped up heinous dictators, invaded their neighbors, and denied millions of people access to lifesaving humanitarian assistance. We have a long road ahead of us in this new era of great power competition. We need sustained political will. These challenges require nothing less. On top of all of this, we are confronted by a new challenge, a biological enemy that we still do not fully understand, an enemy that in six short months has inflected doubles of physical and economic harm on the world we have not seen in more than 100 years. Here china especially but also russia has played a destructive role, from holding withholding data to spreading disinformation and actively stealing vaccine research, china and russia have again chosen to be and proven themselves to be adversaries. Sanctioning bad actors will never be enough. To confront these and other challenges, the department will need to rely on the vast array of tools and resources. By diplomats must be backed efficient assistant so they can help partners help themselves and contribute to the growth of healthier, more stable societies. We are eager to support a budget that will advance these critical interests. In support of the state departments most critical resources, its people. As the coronavirus accelerate across the world, you are forced to pull diplomats. You didnt pack up and go without a thought of your fellow americans. In some cases, this involved opening for flights and roads for transport. Getneed charter planes to our American People home. There are lots of folks who may never come in contact with the department, yet now, more than 100,000 americans who can personally attest to the tremendous work that your department does for our people every day. As the challenges get more numerous and complex, we want to support a state department that is up to the task, fully funded, staffed, and equipped to advance National Interest on all fronts and at all times. We obviously have threats that impede this, but as the saying goes, all politics are local. Our adversaries understand this all too well. We need our diplomats to be local. I want to publicly thank you for your accessibility that youve had as secretary. As you know, its essential that i have instant access to facts and information. You have always make yourself accessible. I sincerely appreciate that. It is absolutely imperative that i have this information. You have always provided that. I never know where you are in the globe or what time it is but you have always made it happen. For that, i remain very grateful. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Its been a while since you joined us and i appreciate your enthusiasm for fulfilling this part of your constitutional responsibilities. I dont imagine were going to see you here anytime soon. So, this is your opportunity to defend your stunningly illconceived request to slash the budget of our Foreign Policy instruments. Id also like to take a wholesale look at how your department has represented the American People and american interests on the world stage for the past year. And unfortunately, that view is not good, to say the least. Under your watch, the United States has faced setback after setback on the world stage. Ceding leverage and influence to our adversaries. Iran is much closer to a nuclear bomb than when you came into office. Continue to proxies create problems throughout the middle east. 2017 strategy says russia wants to weaken the u. S. Around the world and undermine the legitimacy of democracy, the president and your administration has, at best, not addressed this threat. At worst, simply abetted putins efforts. Withdrawing forces from germany, failing to take action when evidence emerged that russia was paying bounties to kill u. S. Troops in afghanistan, and twice redirecting funds to pay for border wall in september of 2019 and april 2020. Meanwhile, the administrations confrontational bluster has not stopped china and the South China Sea, in hong kong, in suppressing and oppressing its own people. Ever north korea diplomacy, which you assured this committee you would have that diplomacy would have that diplomacy wrapped up a couple of years ago. It appears to have flatlined, leaving north korea with a more capable nuclear program. The state department has been woefully absent. Most recently in its engagement on negotiations related to management of the nile waters. In the western hemisphere, the entirety of our approach seems to be antiimmigrant hysteria and bullying, all while gutting our Institutional Capacity to deal with the root causes of migration. There is bipartisan support for your venezuela policy. But your approach has met with suffering. The administration will not support those who are already exiled. You propose cutting our International Narcotics and law enforcement. On climate change, your department has not just failed to be part of the solution, but is becoming part of the problem. Our allies in europe, in asia, in the middle east routinely wonder out loud whether we can really be counted on. Our values have been denigrated. President trump screen lighting of concentration camps in china and revisionist and sometimes repulsive views espoused by your socalled unalienable rights commission. And in the face of a global pandemic, we havent just taken a backseat at home and abroad. Our leaders point fingers at china and the world health organization, are absent from meetings, and refused to be straight with the congress and the American People on the Public Health threat. All the while, infections and deaths surge across the country. The strength of our diplomacy starts and ends with the strength of our diplomatic force. Earlier this week, i released a report, diplomacy and crisis. I have a copy here in case you havent seen it and i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record. We found a state department at risk of catastrophic value. Career diplomats have a complete and utter disdain. There is a contempt for career employees. Many asking if their Service Still valued. Even as President Trump refers to our diplomats as the deep state department, you have stood by his shoulder and said nothing. Exodus of is an expertise. 7 of the Department Staff left in the first year and while i realize you were not at the department at that time, the department has continued to suffer persistent vacancies without Senate Confirmed nominees. As a response, the administration has repeatedly put forth candidates who do not process the qualifications, the demeanor, nor temperament to serve in leadership positions and represent the American People abroad. When you send us qualified nominees, mr. Secretary, weight we act. We have confirmed more than 190 nominees rate thousands have advanced quickly. You continuously send us nominees who have Sexual Harassment lawsuits and allegations against them, who have supported torture, and whose conduct disqualifies them from service in any administration. Mr. Secretary, the best people dont seem to want to work for you. Finally, let me touch on a few oversight issues that i know you are passionate about as a former member of congress. At your direction, the president recently removed the state department back to general who was investigating last years Emergency Declaration of arms sales to saudi arabia. About which i and colleagues raised serious concerns. Additionally, we have learned of allegations of you using your office to promote your own personal domestic agenda, hosting lavish dinners and using taxpayer resources to impress highprofile political donors. While this hearing is assertively extensively oh nsibly convenedte for the budget request, you and i and Everybody Knows that the president s wish to completely get our International Affairs budget by a shocking 34 is dead on arrival. I have to say, i am tempted to provide you with a budget request and see how you would actually operate under it. Even if this Budget Hearing were not months after the fact and far too late in the legislative process, let me just say its fundamentally misguided and unsuited for our nations security. Now, i recognize youll take issue with much of what i have said, mr. Secretary, but facts are a stubborn thing. I offered a hand to work with you in areas where we could fill bipartisan support. Venezuela, iran, russia, china. And indeed, im disappointed. But as i look at your tenure in office and at the track record of this administration, instead of making America First among the nations of the world, you have instead relinquished our leadership. That makes america last. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As we proceed, first, let me say, those views are at the views of senator menendez, not those of this chairman or the majority of this committee. We, for the members of this an 11 30 hardhave stop that will give us time for a round of questions and we will take a short break about halfway through. We would stick with what has been longstanding commitment of this committee for civility. When the witnesses ask a question, we are going to give the witness the opportunity to answer that question and not interrupt his answer simply be as he is doing so well at answering the question. And i will enforce that strictly. Secretary pompeo. If i may have a parliamentary inquiry . If were going to have answers that are going to be filibusters, i do not expect that were going to allow that either. Senator menendez, i will run the committee. And i will do it as indicated. We will not interrupt the witness. With that, secretary pompeo. Sec. Pompeo thank you. I have a full statement in the interest of time, i will just read the first third. If you could put the rest to the record, i would appreciate that. Thank you very much. Today, im here to present and testify about the 2021 budget. It requests nearly 41 billion for the state department and usaid. To increase the development of democratic societies. And critically, it reflects a commitment to the strategic use of resources to provide better results for the American People. Thats the top line analysis. But i want to make a broader point, that our diplomatic expenditures reflect American Values. Two weeks ago in philadelphia, i unveiled their report of the state departments commission on inalienable rights. My message today was simple. The Trump Administration places are founding principles at the core of american diplomacy. I want to talk about how we have done that in three areas. First, in securing the American Peoples freedoms against authoritarian threats, securing lives during the pandemic, and helping friends 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. We rallied nations to our side for diplomacy. And weve bolstered our military readiness, visavis iran. The Security Council must renew the u. N. Arms embargo it expires on october 18. Iran launches missiles at saudi oil facilities. Should the Security Council fail to act, iran will have a freer hand to sew destruction around the world. Russia, too, is a destabilizing force. In ukraine, in libya, interior, and inside of western democracy. This administration has acted to protect their interests and our friends. We have issued the crimea declaration. We supplied ukraine with military hardware. We sanctioned more than 360 russian targets for everything from human rights abuses to supporting the murderous assad regime to operating mercenaries around the world. And the state departments request for the Global Engagement center is 138 million, more than current estoppel level. We will not tolerate misinformation from the kremlin nor any of our adversaries. Two weeks ago, the state department removed nordstreams restriction. This 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 led to an international awakening. Senators, the tide is turning. 30 plus countries have banned on trusted vendors from their networks. One we talked about this a year ago, the number was in the single digits. In our hemisphere, canada has spoken out against chinese hostagetaking. Its three Major Telecom carriers have also banned them. Denmark has rejected their attempted censorship of danish newspapers. Sweden has closed its confucius institutes. Lithuanian Intelligence Services identify china as a threat. For the first time. In the indo pacific, australia declared chinas South China Sea claims unlawful and illegitimate, as have we. And were proud to step up maritime maneuvers in that part of the world. India has banned 106 chinese applications that threatened privacy and security. Our diplomatic effort is working at mitigating the threats the Chinese Communist party presents. All 10 nations have said the South China Sea must be settled on international norms. Japan led the g7s condemnation of chinas National Security law targeting hong kong. The eu condemned the law too and declared china a systemic rival. We have agreed to start a dialogue focused totally on china at the eus request. In nato, they have called to make china a greater focus on that part, as well. We let a multilateral effort to make sure intellectual property rights. In our quad, these nations have been reinvigorated. Weve worked hard at this. Our diplomats have done wonderful work. Im very proud of the progress were making. In addition to these multilateral efforts, we sanctioned chinese leaders for their brutality and exposed export controls on companies that supported it. We warned u. S. Businesses against using slave labor in their supply chain. We terminated special agreements with hong kong in response to 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 this effort and the reality on the ground. We requested nearly 1. 5 billion to the indo pacific region, it when he percent increase from the 2020 request. We want that part of the world to be prosperous. I will close and im happy to take questions. Thank you, mr. Secretary. I appreciate that. We will do questioning on a seniority basis since it is secretary at cabinet level as opposed to the usual firstcome rule. And again, id ask each member to be respectful of other members and stick to the five minutes youre allotted. Once weve gone around, well make a determination of where we will go from there. Sen. Menendez mr. Chairman, i see seven minutes on the clock. Is that what its going to be . Lets do seven. Thatll just about take up the time. Well have to stick to that. Sen. Menendez Vladimir Putins investment in donald trump prior to the 2016 election continues to pay off handsomely. Withdrawing troops from germany is not about germany. Troops in germany is about our own National Security interest. Redirecting funds from the European Deterrence Initiative thats initiative, as you well know, do deter russia to pay for the president s ineffective border wall. And refusing to follow the law and impose meaningful sanctions. But perhaps most shocking, while we have all known for some time that russia has abided support supplied support to the taliban, both arms and resources, imposing bounties on the heads of u. S. Service members is an outrageous escalation. President trump astonishingly admitted in an interview on tuesday that hes never raised the issue with mr. Putin, even though hes spoken to him about seven times this year alone. Mr. Secretary, do you consider how you would react to such behavior from a democratic president if you were sitting in your old house seat . Would you be ok with a president who abandoned our troops without even raising this with the kremlin . Sec. Pompeo mr. Chairman, youve identified four items youre concerned about. Id like to address each of them. Sen. Menendez i only asked one question. Sec. Pompeo i dont spend much time thinking about what i wouldve done. Im focused on my job. Sen. Menendez ok, let me ask you this. Have you raised concerns with russia and its foreign minister with respect to russia reportedly placing bounties on the heads of Service Members in afghanistan . Sec. Pompeo i want to be very careful about whats Public Record and whats intelligence based, but yes. I can assure you and the American People, each time i have spoken with him my i have raised all of the issues that put any american interests at risk. Whether its soldiers on the ground in syria, afghanistan, the activities taking place in libya, the actions in ukraine. Each and every one of these can threaten american interests. And i speak with him with some frequency. Sen. Menendez i appreciate that answer. I ask you specifically. This is in the public sphere. Have you raised, there are public reports, very well documented, that the russians were supposedly paying bounties to kill our Service Members. Have you raised that issue with foreign minister lavrov . Sec. Pompeo senator, im going to be more careful than you are with regards to the intelligence. Ill tell you, make no mistake about it, the proper people have been aware to every threat to and afghanistan. Whether that was general miller or my team at the embassy in kabul. Any time there was a threat to our assets. We have raised these two are russian counterparts. Every one of our team who interacts with the russians. Sec. Pompeo let me turn to a few other questions. Maybe you can answer these simply yes or no. Did turkey purchase the s400 system from the Russian Federation . Sec. Pompeo yes. Sen. Menendez did turkey pay 2. 5 billion for that system . Sec. Pompeo i am not aware of the amount of the transaction. Sen. Menendez but they did pay them whatever the amount was . Sec. Pompeo i believe that is correct. I am not certain that the cash has been exchanged. Sen. Menendez does the turkish government currently have it in its possession . Sec. Pompeo it has an s400, yes. Sen. Menendez did turkey test it . Sec. Pompeo i will not answer that question. I will not discuss classified information in this setting. Sen. Menendez has the president raised this with president erdogan . Sec. Pompeo i dont talk about things that the president speaks about with foreign counterparts. The white house is free to do that if they choose but im not going to. Sen. Menendez so, let me ask you a simple question. You sent me a response on monday saying you take your responsibilities seriously. And that you fully intend to imply with the law. Well, all of these elements are clearly in violation of cassa, so over a year since all of these facts have attached, when will the administration follow the law and impose sanctions on turkey . Response, we have taken significant actions that have had a real impact. We have pulled out a significant Weapons Program that they were building pieces of and we continue to evaluate how to apply sanctions in order to achieve our end objective. Our end objective isnt to punish, its to assure our nato partner acts consistently with the National Security of our nato partners. They are working diligently. I had a very pointed question. I know that youre a harvard graduate, west point graduate. You know what my question was. You decided not to answer that. Let me go through the final question. General of inspector the state department ultimately fired. Is that correct . Recommended to the president that he be terminated, yeah. And you recommended it to the president he be terminated wh y, because he was conducting investigations that may effective . At the time i made the recommend addition, i was unaware of any of the investigations that was ongoing with one exception. I was aware of the investigation that he had asked me to provide testimony. Other than that, i was unaware of any investigation. Aware your undersecretary and did he speak to you about it . He did not speak to me about it. You said he didnt believe what he should have because he wasnt following what you wanted to. Inspector generals are not supposed to follow what the department wants to. Theyre supposed to be independent of their pursuit of their mission. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator johnson . Mr. Secretary, welcome. Thank you for your service. We acknowledge the world is a complex place. Your service. I think we can acknowledge the world is a complex and messy place and facts are stubborn things and the administration has track records. A quick review, you came into office, President Trump came into office with a big mess, a lot of messes, you had to clean up. Libya, a failed state because president obamas actions, syria had gone from a few hundred dead over his administration to basically a genocide, about a half million killed in syria, what i consider as one of the historic blunders in Foreign Policy, the removal of troops from iraq allowed isis to rise from the defeated ashes of al qaeda in iraq. Crimea, Eastern Ukraine invaded and president obama did not provide the lethal defensive weaponry on a unanimous basis that congress authorized him to do. North korea was rampantly testing missiles and their Nuclear Weapons. Iran, through that agreement, changed their behavior for the worst. It emboldened them. Illegal immigration, primarily in the form of family units exploiting laws that werent being enforced was exploding. President trump came into office with Foreign Policy messes. Under this administration we started no new wars. Weve destroyed the physical caliphate of isis. General sue la manny, al baghdadi are off the field. President trump actually provided those lethal defensive weaponry, the javelins, which helped stabilize the situation in iran, and quite honestly weve done a pretty good job at reducing that outofcontrol illegal immigration from the southern border by diplomacy with guatemala as one of the things that occurred there. I think we have to put those track records and compare them and talk honestly about these things. The Ranking Member has been brutal regarding the fire of Inspector General linick. I was copied on a letter that undersecretary of management wrote to mr. Horowitz. Ive read it. Its somewhat complex. I want to give you an opportunity to talk about what happened by the way, im very sensitive to Inspector Generals or trying to push Inspector Generals to investigate leaks out of these departments. There were 126 leaks having to do with National Security in the first 125 days of this administration. That needs to be investigated and if you could describe the leaks you were concerned about and how Inspector General linick didnt handle that the way you thought it should be handled. Sure. So thank you, senator johnson. Let me just say, i value inspectors general as well and had a great relationship which the Inspector General at the cia, when i was there he took care of the critical and team and i know what a good i. G. Can do. The incident youre referring to we had a very sensitive Inspector General report when the final draft was prepared, it leaked. The politico reporter i think said it came from two people close to the investigation. At that point it was basically the i. G. s office and a couple others that knew about it which had a real impact on Senior State Department officials lives. When we confronted the Inspector General he was defensive. We asked him to undertake a process. He ignored that request to have a separate i. G. Come and investigate. Its pretty complicated but suffice it to say he didnt comply with the instructions about how we felt that leak needed to be investigated so that we could have an independent investigator do it and he wasnt candid about that process either. He didnt act with integrity throughout that process in the way Inspector Generals have to be counted on to be hive. I have my own issues with Inspector General linick. Senator grassley and i are falsely accused of peddling in russian disinformation because of acting director of National Intelligence grenells effort to declassify four footnote in the michael her row witz i. G. Report the russian disinformation involved in the campaign was bought and paid for by the dnc, the Clinton Campaign was contained in the steele dossier. That is the truth. That is the russian disinformation. I have heard no outrage on the part of our democratic colleagues about that russian disinformation. But we are still undergoing our investigation and were trying to seek documents out of the state department involved in that steele dossier. Let me ask you a question, in october 2016, former state Department Official Jonathan Weiner arranged for Christopher Steele to provide the antitrump dossier he compiled for the dnc. Mr. Winer gave mr. Steele information collected by supporters which mr. Steele passed on to the fbi. This conduct raises serious concerns under the hatch act, federal records act and other department policies. Although then i. G. Linick acknowledged conducting review of this conduct he has not published any of his findings and admitted the oig did not interview any of the key players. Are you aware of these issues and can you commit to the commit that the department will be responsive to our requests from senator grassley and myself . We need these documents. Senator, well do our best to be responsive. We understand the requests. Were working through it and yes, i am familiar with the information that you set forth there with respect to the behavior that took place in october of 2016 in the state department. Were there any other specific instances that caused you to ask for the removal of Inspector General linick. There were several. At the end its about accomplishing the core function. One of the central functions is to make sure we can represent to you all the Financial Statement for the state department is accurate and full, we have an audit team to do that. Inspector general linick screwed that. It said oversight by the oig was ineffective, placing the departments information as well as the reputation, Human Capital and operations at considerable and unnecessary risk. Thats an enormous failure for one of the most important tasks that the i. G. s office does conduct an audit of the state departments books. Theres a handful of others. He refused to take care of his team in important ways. 10 fewer audits of our posts around the world, one of our most important funks is to travel around conduct audits. We were down about 10 and i must tell you morale inside the i. G. s office of all we have 38 assistant secretary level bureaus the i. G. s office was the worst survey results of any of those 38. He didnt take care of his people either. He did not investigate the improper use of personal emails in the state department which was rampant under the previous information. Thank you, senator johnson. Senator cardin. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Yes, sir. Americas strength is in our values. We are the Global Leader for democratic values. We have been so recognized. Weve worked with the International Community as the leader of the free world, with other countries that share our values. We led in that and one of the best examples was the passage of the magnitsky sanctions, the global, which was not just bipartisan, it was pretty much universal here supporting promoting u. S. Values. Im gad to work with the late senator mccain on the passage of that legislation and now canada, europe, australia, are all following our leadership to enforce universally recognized democratic values. So when the United States isolates itself from our traditional allies, it affects our credibility as a Global Leader of the free world in promoting democratic values. When we pulled out of the climate agreement, when we isolated ourselves on iran, when our trade policies have been more bilateral rather than working with other countries to try to advance our causes against nonmarket economies or government controlled economies, all that affects americas credibility. When i look at your budget i see a decline of 35 in democracy funds. To me i dont understand that cut, 35 . If were going to be the leader in democratic values. But then i was pleased to hear you mention as the first order of your remarks today human rights and American Values, but i was disappointed that you used the commission of inalienable rights as an example. In my conversations with human rights advocates not just here but globally they look at United States trying to promote a political agenda on rights rather than working with the International Community, the free world, on democratic principles of human rights. Tell me how this commission has engaged the activists globally that are fighting every ta for human rights when it is very much tied towards a particular mill view rather than a universal view on human rights. Senator, i appreciate the question to talk about the commission and the objective i set out, not just over a year with respect to it. I would urge everyone to take look at it and read it. I think they did phenomenal work. I dont agree with everything thats in there. I dont think any of the ten members that came from religious or political backgrounds agreed with everything in there, but what it set out to do was take on what is an enormous crisis in the 20th century human rights project. Were in a bad place all around the world. It was my view as i watched the state department, our drl, all the folks who work on this, great and amazing people, i watched as they were they didnt have a founding. I wanted to talk about how do we moor american human rights policies in the tradition of the United States. Thats what the commission was asked to do. What were you trying what is the problem youre trying to solve . Yes. Theres been a great deal of debate. Yes. In establishing universal values of human rights which has been the core for democratic states, and now all of a sudden were picking winners and losers but it looks like its done on a political basis. A second subject if i might on arms sales we have a proud tradition of making sure that when we supply arms to other countries, that theyre not used against our human rights values. Weve seen in recent years that arms provided by the United States has ended up in the hands of actors that we do not want to see get those arms. What oversight are you deploying to make sure that arms that we make available to other countries are used for the intended purpose and do not end up in the wrong for the wrong use . Senator, we have an elaborate process to do our best to verify that doesnt happen. Its not that we dont have escapes that there arent fail yours but we have a process to validate and verify. We do verification and inspections and big teams in our multiple departments that have responsibility for doing their best to ensure that american weapon systems are used for their intended purpose and we sell them or provide them to our partners and allies around the world. Let me make this offer, i think this committee can help you in that regards and the injur injur jurisdictional battle presents challenges. State has the principal role for a good reason. Legislation ive authored that would help in that regard. I would hope you would engage us to give you the tools you need to take on at some times the military aspects of the Defense Department that may not be as sensitive to these values. Senator, i appreciate that very much. I think the state department is the proper place to lodge the primary responsibility for that activity so i welcome your efforts there. The gao recently issued a report that i had requested in regards to diversity and the report titled state Department Additional steps are needed to identify potential barriers to diversity and point out from the period of 2002, well before your time, 2018, weve seen a decline of minorities in positions within the state department and pronounced within the higher ranks. What steps are you taking to implement the gao concerns . Ive seen that report and internal work weve done. I would characterize it youre talking about from 2002 over the last decade as roughly flat. Thats not good enough. Thats multiple parties, not pattern, partisan. We have about a third today of our members who are minorities excuse me, about 44 of them are women. Weve developed a program to bring more people in and double the applications this year. Big team that works on diversity and inclusion and were almost finished with a major study begun now i think 13 months ago run by carol perez to look at what the failures a lot of money and efforts on diversity and inclusion to your point relatively good outcomes for akz acquisition of talented people but less so at the higher levels. I hope we can Work Together on that. Last point the point on the western hemisphere, i would urge you to evaluate working with us on the aid to the northern triangle to make sure they have the help from the United States to deal with the Economic Issues which takes away the pressure from the northern triangle. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you senator cardin. Thank you, secretary, for your service. Over the last several years on the asia subcommittee weve been working together on this committee to shape a new policy toward the indopacific. The region is burgeoning in population, promising commercial growth and its critical for Global Security and economic stability. But north korea continues to seek Nuclear Weapons and to threaten its neighbors. China is an emerging global power intimidating its neighbors, suppressing its citizens and remake the world order in its own image. In burma the military is committing human rights abuses against the minority population. Its more important than ever the United States maintains a presence, reaffirms alliance, encourages cooperation and promotes human rights and the rule of law. The administration and Congress Must be united on implementing the strategy that will benefit american National Security interests, promote american businesses and create jobs and opportunities, and project American Values of respect for the human rights and freedom in the indopacific region. This includes counter chinas milt tarization of the south china saes and maligned influences in Southeast Asia and ensuri ensuring denuclearization. The United States has been a Pacific Power and like my act ensures that the u. S. Government will speak with one voice to reassure our allies and to deter our adversaries in the indopacific region. In 2018 the agency subcommittee held a hearing series. We talked about democracy, human rights and rule of law. We found that mass concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims necessitated a response from the u. S. And the International Community. The crackdowns are intensifying and beijing continues to refuse negotiations with the central tibetan administration. The human rights defenders in china are jailed and tortured. I was pleased to see that several chinese officials were sanctioned for abuses against uyghurs and the 11 chinese entities in abuses were added to the commerce entity list. What is the administration doing to address global sanctions and other remedies for these abuses . Senator gardner, thanks. Were im familiar and its great work and i want to thank this committee and frankly the Broader Group of senators for the Bipartisan Legislation with respect to the uyghurs and hong kong and democracy as well. Its very powerful when i can talk to my counterparts and say i have not only the support of congress but almost unanimous support on a policy with respect to securing freedom against the threats that the Chinese Communist party is presenting. For what well continue to do in western china with respect to the horrific Human Rights Violations that are taking place against the ethnic minorities there, i dont want to get in front of the final decisions but you can rest assured there are further actions, including further actions with respect to Human Rights Violations that the department of state and department of treasure are working to complete. Mr. Secretary, yesterday, i dont know if you had a chance to see the hearing in the house of representatives regarding some of the Tech Companies operating in the United States and i will read you some of the comments made when asked whether or not china is stealing information from them. Apple ceo tim cook said he had no personal knowledge about Chinese Technology theft. Jeff bezos says no firsthand experience beyond knockoff products. Google ceo said that they didnt have any experience, later had clarified that remark. Can you talk about the tech and china and what you see and whats happening . Is it true that theres no Chinese Technology theft of u. S. Companies . Well they need to get out more. I mean theres a long history, decades long history, of chinese intellectual property threat, against including technologies, and i hear it. Sometimes the case you hear privately because theres continued threats made against their businesses operating not only in china but threats to businesses that are actually working in other parts of asia an Southeast Asia as well. The Chinese Communist party is completely willing to bully and threaten to get companies to behave do you work with these Tech Companies at state department on intellectual property theft, cyber attack . We do. On the side of protecting cyber, weve actually had some good work where we worked alongside each other where we have reduced risks. I thank them for that. The idea that anyone in the tech space could not know of what the Chinese Communist party is attempting to steal and the Cyber Attacks theyre making, seems incred dlus. In march this year as it related to chinese misinformation and the dissemination of misinformation when it came to the covid19 propaganda china was spreading, i suggested that the national Security Council set up a task force at the white house to counter that disinformation. Are the Tech Companies doing enough to combat chinese disinformation . No. Theres always more that they can do and we can do as well. On that front i must say i actually think the world mounted a very effective Counter Campaign against the chinese disinformation. As i have traveled and spoken to my counterparts, i think the world understand this virus emanated from china, wuhan in particular, and the world understand that Chineses Communist Party showed up with ppe that didnt work and covered up what they knew about that when they could have prevented this spread. I think the chinese efforts of disinformation failed in this case. The taiwan situation, i wanted to just ask a question about bilateral trade agreements and opportunities for taiwan. Yesterday i sent a letter to u. S. Trade representative light houser asking for the u. S. To begin engaging in a bilateral trade agreement with taiwan. Can you talk a little bit about the administrations pursuit of such an agreement . Senator, i would prefer to leave that to ambassador lighthouser to talk about that. Were aware theres great interest in this. The state department will have its part in that. Our primary work with respect to taiwan is different from the trade piece of this. Weve been diligent about making sure that we honored the commitments that we have made to the people of taiwan, including approving arms sales that are important so that the taiwanese can engage to protect their democracy. The administrations goal of complete verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains . It does. Thank you senator gardner. Senatorre you involved in the decision to withdraw troops from germany . Yes. According to senator esper, 6400 of those troops, so over half of those who will be removed from germany, will be coming back to the United States. Theyre not going to be going to parts of europe to deter russia, parts of asia to deter china. In fact, the only country that is publicly supported the removal of u. S. Troops from germany to date has been russia. So, can you share with us whether the impact of this kooi decision to impact china and russia was taken into account and was there any strategic assessment done to support this decision . Thanks for the question. Of course there was and we were very involved at the strategic level. Obviously the troop level decisions and the like are primarily the department of defense and the president s. You characterized the folks who were coming back to the United States as somehow being off the field. Thats not the case. These units will participate in rotational activity, forward deployed, they wont be stationed or garrisoned but they will be fully available to ensure that we can properly prosecute the challenges we have from the global powers. Mr. Secretary, i assume that all of our troops who are in the United States are available to be forward deployed. Now i recognize that there are certain training that needs to be part of them before they are deployed, but i guess i dont understand and was the effect of diplomatically alienating germany, who is the largest and wealthiest country in the eu who has been a historic strategic ally was that also taken into consideration . This is personal for me. I fought on the border of east germany when i was a young soldier. Im aware of that. And your unit is coming back to the United States. I know. It had been once before to fort poke and then back to germany. Germany is no longer a frontline state. As for strategic effort, generale secretary stoltenberg, nato commander, was in the process of helping us think this through. I saw comments out of russia this morning that are different that viewed the actions we took as threatening because we will have soldiers deployed closer to the russian border. This is a thoughtful process. The military piece run out of the pentagon largely, but state department was fully involved in this strategic pieces of this. I am very confident our mission to deter russia, the nato mission to deter russia we are capable of executing. The precise number 200,000 early, about 100,000 when i was there. Our forces need to be repositioned to appropriately confront todays challenges. Well i would just fraeread fa report in bloomberg that quotes dimitri peskov, the press secretary for Vladimir Putin who says that, and i quote, the fewer american soldiers on the european continent the calmer it is in europe he said, answering a question on planned u. S. Troop reductions in germany. That doesnt sound to me like they think this increases the threat from russia. But i would like to go on to another issue because i want to followup on the question that secretary menendez senator menendez raised about the reports on bounties that russia has put on our troops in afghanistan by the taliban, and there was a report last night that said that state officials have secretly warned russia against bounties on our troops, against killing our troops. What more do you think we should be doing to address that, to prevent the taliban and russia from trying to murder our troops in afghanistan . So there are many things and weve been engaged in them consistently. Theres intelligence collection so that if it happens we can identify it, stop it, make sure that the actual tactical event doesnt take place. Thats the task of not only d. O. D. Intelligence services but our broader Intelligence Services. Our diplomats do make very clear our expectations and set a set of red lines. Our afghanistan policy, its not just russia that has been underwriting the taliban all these years. Theres a lot of focus on that in this town. Were worried about iranian support to the taliban, gulf money to the taliban. I totally agree with that. We are working diligently against every one of those threats diplomatically and from a security perspective to protect our soldiers. Finally to protect our soldiers further weve been working diplomatically to get peace and reconciliation in afghanistan, we had a cease fire that began, weve had a significant Prisoner Exchange since february 29th we havent had a single attack against an american soldier. This is the finest in american diplomacy and im proud of what my team has done, my state Department Team has done to protect american soldiers. So do you think it would be helpful for President Trump to talk to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he needs to back off in terms of paying the taliban to kill american troops . I always leave to the president what he wants to say to other leaders. I dont think theres any doubt in the mind of every russian leader including Vladimir Putin about the expectations of the United States of america not to kill americans and i can promise you that the 300 russians in syria that took action that are no longer on this planet understand that too. When you were here last time, we talked about the potential for negotiations with the taliban in afghanistan. That was before an agreement was reached. There was an exchange that you and i had about the role of afghan women in any talks with the taliban, and you said that afghan women should fend for themselves. Well, weve seen the outcome of our reticence to support afghan women, the agreement between the u. S. And taliban failed to mention the rights of afghan women and it contains no guarantees for their continued constitutional protection. Is the policy to have afghan women fend for themselves consistent, do you believe, with the legal mandate for the u. S. To support and i, quote, the meaningful inclusion of women in peace talks as directed by the women peace and security act that was signed into law by President Trump . I would have to look and see what i said. Were doing our level best to make sure we protect every afghan male and female and i have seen the at least tentative composition of the Afghan Negotiating Team and i think youll be pleased with it. Im out of time but the fend for themselves is an exact quote from your statement when you were before this committee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you senator shaheen. Mr. Secretary, people always say actions speak louder than words. Do you think the specific actions the United States of america took against general soleimani took action to what would happen to people who targeted soldiers on the battlefield . I do. Senator romney. Thank you. Mr. Secretary, its a pleasure to see you and appreciate you appearing before this committee. Im one of many who applauds your recent addresses with regards to china. In these you have called out their predatory behavior, economic military, geopolitical and you note that we have to confront china with our friends and allies if were going to be successful in diverting them from their course. Its a very welcome assessment, a very clear eyed evaluation of chinas intent and their actions, and a statement of what our mission must be with regards to china. Its also a welcome departure from the president s fawning praise of xi jinping and celebrations of agreements that china hasnt honored. Its also my view, inconsistent with actions that weve take than have offended our allies at a time when we need to be drawing them closer to us and one, of course, is the steel and aluminum tariffs against our friends and allies that i thought were misplaced. I would have rather focused our entire ammunition on china. The other is most recently as senator shaheen has indicated the withdraw of troops from germany and doing so while expressing an intent to punish germany for the fact that they spend approximately 1. 5 of their gdp as opposed to the 2 nato target even though they indicate they are on track to get to the 2 number. I have heard from the highest levels of German Government that this is seen as an insult to germany and i cant imagine at a time when we need to be drawing in our friends and allies so we can collectively confront china we want to insult them. My question is this, what actions will the administration take to bring our allies together in a way thats different than what weve done in the past . I know its always lots of talk going on in any administration can talk about the things happening but what are we going to do thats distinct, different, dramatic to bring the nations that follow the rule of law together so that we can hopefully reach some kind of a common approach or common strategy in how were going to deal with china economically, militarily, geopolitically and then collectively confront them with the intent of dissuading them from pursuing the course that we theyre on. We dont want to go to militarically or economically or moist, but we want to dissuade them but that can only happen when we can do that with others. I would note something you said at the nixon library, quote, maybe its time for a new groupings of likeminded nations a new alliance of democracies. I think thats a good idea but im interested in what actions of a new and dramatic nature are you considering or willing to take in order to accomplish the objective you described . Senator, it is absolutely the case that to confront the Chinese Party its going to take a global effort. Thats true. Thats why i talked about this idea perhaps of a new alliance of democracies, what shape that would take. Theres lots of discussions about, many conversations with friends in the region. Step one, senator, to be honest has been to awaken the world to the threat for an awful long time, not just the United States, but the whole world saw that there was lucrative opportunities in china and that was basically Foreign Policy. Sell as much as you can outsource jobs, build supply chains. I spent my first year and change traveling the world trying to raise awareness of the threat. I think thats new and different. You may say its not enough but it wasnt happening before. I went through the list of things that have begun to turn the tide. I will say, there are still nations who understand this threat but dont feel like they are in power or in a position to withstand the threats that come from the Chinese Communist party, we are working with diplomats trying to build out a set of relationships, part of a formal organization or not, im not sure i know the answer to yet, but to convince them that america is prepared to lead in pushing back against the communist cheese party ainese p. We have 26 lines of effort at the state department, probably an equal amount at the department of defense building out the set of alliances in Southeast Asia with our five partners and the quad to build out a set of commitments that can robustly communicate to the Chinese Communist party enough you have to behave on the global stage. If you want to behave on the global stage you do it under a set of rules that has created prosperity around the world. That may be unsatisfying, but its a work in progress to get everyone fully aligned. I mentioned the eu dialog. Very important. Foreign minister high representative boreal asked if we would have a dialog on china. That took a lot of effort to get 27 eu nations to say yes, this is something weve got to confront and identify as a systemic rival. Theres lots of work that goes into what seems pretty simple, i suppose. I think its the most important work that we will be doing as a country and as an administration as we face this challenge. Just parenthetical comment that comes to mind as youre speaking that relates to a discussion held earlier with regards to Tech Companies that senator johnson raiseped. I know theres great interest sometimes politically to go after google, amazon, facebook, and berate them for their market power and if they violate american antitrust laws thats totally appropriate, but i would note were in a global competition and china has been successful in driving a lot of western companies out of business. Theyve not been successful in driving Companies Like these out of business. These are thriving and succeeding and the last thing we ought to be doing is trying to knock down businesses in the United States succeeding on a global stage. So we need to be careful not to flex our muscle and berate those entities successful and beating china. I mean alibaba would like to replace amazon, tik tok would like to replace instagram. Its just an area of concern and hope youre able to point these out to other members of the administration who care deeply about that. Were you surprised by the fact that 57 countries supported china, 53 countries supported chinas crackdown on hehong kon . Did that shock you as it did me . I was surprised and dismayed. Thank you, mr. Secretary. Thank you senator romney. Senator coons. Thank you for holding this important hearing today and thank you, mr. Secretary. Let me start with two specific issues if i can that i think are important. I want to associate myself with a number of other areas that have been explored but let me touch on these two. Im working with members of this committee and your department to resolve terrorism related claims against sudan which is in the middle of a critical democratic transition to provide justice and compensation for over 700 members and their families and move our relationship forward under the dictatorship of omar al bashir. I want to urge you and the administration to do everything you can to support the Prime Minister and make sure we seize this opportunity to bring real justice to the victims and their American Families and foreign nationals involved and to build a new democratic partner in the region. If you personally engaged on this issue and can you commit to working transparently have with congress as we try to find a solution urgently . Thank you for your work. This is really important. Weve proposed that theres a legal peace resolution in the legislation that will be before congress here in the very near term. We think its the appropriate time to bring justice to those from the 1998 bombings and get a real opportunity for the Prime Minister. Ive talked to him a handful of times and the other leaders there in sudan. This is an opportunity that doesnt come along often. We know the history of sudan and the tragedy there. A chance not only for democracy to begun to be built out, but perhaps regional opportunities that could flow from that and lifting the state sponsored terrorism designation there, if we can take care of the victims of those tragedies, that would be a good thing for american Foreign Policy and i appreciate your assist fitness that regard. A number of members with strong interests and its my hope we can move in way to respect the constituent interests and makes progress. On the global fragility act legislation that was bipartisan that i led with senator graham and President Trump signed into law last summer, it requires a long term whole of Government Strategy to address extremism, instability in fragile states. The first deliverable under this legislation the global fragility strategy is due september 15th. Congress really isnt looking for old wine in new bottles so we urge you to look at the gfa as a tool to rethink our approach these challenges and the way that state and d. O. D. Work together. Are you using the tools to address the consequences of this pandemic and development, governance, security and can you commit that you will look hard at and resolve a technical issue on the creation of the prevention and stabilitization fun which was fund . Senator coons, ill get back to you on the last question that you asked. Im familiar with it but not enough to answer your question. I will get you an answer brief he. Youre right, im tracking the first deliverable. I will say i saw the first pass at this, you characterized it about right. There wasnt much that was original and ive asked the team to take a set of fresh looks, ask for outside views, folks on capitol hill, People Experts around the world to see if we cant use this tool you provided us on a bipartisan basis to deliver on the stated objectives of the law. It was an important piece of legislation and i dont want to miss the chance to develop the strategy to underpin all the actio actions we can take once the strategy is done. Its not something we intend to put on the shelf and admire but creates an operational opportunity underneath that strategy. Thank you. Today is the Funeral Service for a friend and former colleague, congressman john lewis. I was struck by a comment made by your former colleague former secretary of defense general mattis, who wrote following the weeks of protests after the unlawful murder of george floyd, general mattis wrote ive watched this weeks unfolding events angry and appalled. That is what the protesters are rightly demanding. Do you agree with general mattis and im concerned about the general direction of the most senior levels of the state department. This has been raised before. I wont go through the gao report. But of 189 ambassadors representing us abroad, only 3 are africanamerican, 4 hispanic, and i recognize that diversity in the department has been a longterm challenge, but i would be interested in hearing both do you agree with general mattis comments and what are you doing to mentor the next crop of Senior Leaders and diversify the seventh floor Leadership Team . I think the seventh floor Leadership Team, my communications secretary, undersecretary from management and Political Affairs are all part of diversity groups. Im proud of what our team has done but that doesnt begin to accomplish what we need to get done in the state department to get this right. Diversity inclusion is broad based and we need to make sure we have people from all across america with all viewpoints, every idea from all across america. Weve been narrow in how we have recruited from a certain set of institutions and certain universities and we dont get a full spectrum of understandings of america and the world if we are too narrow in how we think about diversity and inclusion. Weve built out a set of programs, your point about not having suf is shent minority representation in our administratoral leve administratoral ambassadorial levels is true. 23 will be coming shortly. More than half were female, first time thats ever happened. Were making progress, but i would agree that rate of change is insufficient. How do you think our own failure to address structural racial inequality impacts our diplomacy overseas and advocate around human rights issues . Its important we get it right at home, no doubt about that. I would tell you that we are a beacon for that around the world. I think you can see it in people who want to come to the United States of america because its the freest nation and a place you have immigrants from around the world. I am a believer people vote with their feet. They see america as the greatest most exceptional nation. We are not without flaws but as our diplomats travel the world they can be proud of our progress. Mr. Secretary, i want to ask a last question about our election. President trump has just tweeted that we should delay it. Im interested in whether you were able to vote by mail when you served abroad in the army, vote by mail in your home state of kansas, whether like many of us who serve in congress in both parties youve availed yourself as do virtually all of our diplomats and Development Professionals and Armed Services members of the opportunity to vote securely by mail . Have you done so and do you have any concerns about the security of you are election this november . Senator coons, i believe i have voted by absentee ballot while i was a soldier and member of congress i did a couple times as well. The state department has some some role in making sure we have Election Security. Its not our primariy focus. I will leave to others who have that focus. Is there any reason to be concerned those votes are fraudulent or ineligible to be counted if cast by mail or in absentee ballot by diplomats . Having a small group of people vote by absentee ballot is different than deciding to conduct a full mail ballots program. Those are two different pieces i will leave to the professionals to identify the level of risk associated with that. I also know and i saw this in my home state of kansas when you change the voting rules close to an election, its a difficult task. Thank you senator coons. Senator rubio. Good morning, mr. Secretary. Thank you for being here. I know Election Security is not your area of expertise, but i think you can comment on what im about to ask. Im sure youre well aware of influence efforts on the part of the chinese and taiwan to shape taiwanese policies, policies of their government. Im certain as most people on this committee i hope are aware how they pressure political figures they view are opposed to their interests and i think weve all witnessed, i think you will confirm this, china has engaged in efforts of disinformation particularly about the coronavirus. Im not asking you to comment specifically about the our country. I think im more than anything else asking does china ever decide they want to do those kinds of things to us would you assess they have the capability to conduct disinformation campaign, to pressure american political figures, potentially even members of congress, the way weve seen them do in taiwan and australia and other places . If they decided they wanted to do that, this is the second largest economy in the world, pretty significant capabilities. If they ever decided they wanted to come after us that way they would have the capability to do it, would they not . Senator, if i might have a second to respond to this, they certainly have the capability. Ive talked about this. The united front the chinese united front is working here in the United States today. Theyre meeting with state legislators and governors and running what one of the things that was taking place out of the consulate at houston were influence operations conducted by their diplomats. This isnt i know we have diplomats from all across the world who come to our offices as members of congress and talk about policy. What im talking about is fundamentally different from that. So they not only have the capability but the intention of conducting influence operations in the United States. I think were a pretty resilient nation and push back against that but the world needs to understand when its happening here in the United States, its happening all across and in their countries too. I think one of the things thats interesting yesterday the four ceos of these Tech Companies appeared i believe were House Committee yesterday if im not mistaken asked a simple question, do you believe, they were asked, do they believe that china steals technology from u. S. Firms. They were asked this question. I think theres pretty strong consensus across the board in both parties and in the media and elsewhere that the answer to that question is yes. The ceo of apple said, they havent experienced it. That was his answer. Ceo of google said neither have we. And the ceo of amazon says, oh, ive read that. Only the ceo of facebook said yes, absolutely. So apple, google, and amazon answered that question by saying either they hadnt experienced it or read that somewhere, but wouldnt comment further. Why would corporations such as this, some of whom by the way take it upon themselves to censor truth versus whats not true and what versus whats not true and what they believe some people should be saying on not others on the basis of they judge to be true. Why would three of the ceos of the four of the largest Tech Companies headquartered in the United States be afraid to answer that question . Senator, i can only speculate. I mean its patently clear to anyone whos watching that the chinese are engaged in intense efforts of intellectual property theft including to technology. Would it be fair in your mind to speculate they try influence people even in the Business Community . Absolutely. Okay. One more question. I think i know the answer to this as well, but would you agree with the belief i think again thats pretty widespread that china has systematically identified industries and te technologies they believe will be key, and theyve undertaken a systematic effort to dominate these industries while destroying our capability. The force transfer of technology, subsidies to their firms, blocking access to their markets. There is no doubt at this point that they have a very carefully crafted plan to dominate Certain Key Industries for the 21st century and not just our capabilities in those industries but everybody els. Thats a fair assessment. And theyve not been covert about this. Theyve spoken openly about how theyre approaching their commercial interests. The only thing they dont speak is rather than build these industries inside the tools they use are fundamentally different than the way western democracies do. We invest capital in the market. They run state sponsored enterprises, they steal intellectual property and they endeavor to undermine other companies and threaten to bully other countries around the world into buying their products. My last question is unrelated to china directly, but as youre well aware there have been press reports, speculations, commentators and the like that have made much about recent, you know, allegations and in one case an interview the president gave they took from it the president is willing to engage in negotiations with maduro and the maduro regime in venezuela. Could you envision as long as this administration is in office we would ever negotiate with the maduro regime for them to remain in power . Absolutely not. Our policy is not to negotiate for them for anything other than his departure from ruling that country. Thank you. Thank you. Next after the next question were going to take a ten minute recess, but right now, senator, the floor is yours. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and secretary pompeo. I appreciate your time and testimony today. I want to start with an important subject, democracy promotion. Earlier this year you called for free and Fair Elections in venezuela and nicaragua. If free and Fair Elections are held and current occupants then lose the state department then strongly encourages those leaders to step down from power. And i think that sort of thing is an Important Pillar of our Foreign Policy on a bipartisan basis, correct . Yes, sir. But i am hearing growing concern in this country about whether we are going to set a good example in your november election. In a recent fox news interview Chris Wallace asked President Trump whether he would give, a quote, direct answer that you will accept the election, unquote, in november. In response President Trump said i have to see. No, im not just going to say yes. No, im not going to say no. I didnt say last time either. During a 2016 debate he stated i will tell you at the time, i will keep you in suspense. And hes also called voting by mail as you know one of the major ways americans vote especially in a pandemic. He said over and over again an election is rigged if its vote by mail. So secretary pompeo, if President Trump refuses to accept the upcoming november election due to his lack of faith in voting by mail will you respect the results of the certified election as the state department typically does throughout the world . Senator, im not going to speculate. You had about 15 ifs in there. You should know i have said repeatedly to this committee i will follow the rule of law, follow the constitution. Ive endeavored to do that in everything ive done and ill continue to do that every day. The president has made this a legitimate question in americans minds through his own statements. Former pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security secretary tom ridge, a republican as you know says and i quote here, i think its very sad and very disappointing that with almost five months to go the president seems to want to try to delegitimize the november 3rd election. It just seems to me this may be an indication hes more worried about the outcome than hes worried about the fraud, end quote. This is a serious domestic and Foreign Policy question. We need to set a good example about the peaceful transition of power or else we undermine our entire Foreign Policy. George kennen wrote in his long telegram that in order to counter the soviet union, quote, much depends on the health and vigor of our own society. I think that is just as true today about russia, china, venezuela, iran and other authoritarian regimes that we have challenges with. And i can imagine few scenarios that would endanger our society more than a president ial candidate who refuses to accept the outcome of an election. Secretary pompeo, this year the committee to protect journalists issue said a report on the harm this president has caused to journalists First Amendment rights. In their summary the committee states and i quote, the Trump Administration has stepped up the prosecutions of news sources, interfered in the business of media owners, harassed journalists crossing u. S. Borders and empowered foreign leaders to restrict their own media. But trumps most effective ploy has been to destroy the credibility of the press. Dangerously undermining truth and consensus even as the covid19 pandemic threatens to kill tens of thousands of americans. Thats the end of their quote. Are you concerned that instead of promoting press Freedom Abroad america is now providing moral support to authoritarian efforts to crack down on critical Media Outlets from russia to china to venezuela and beyond . No, im not remotely concerned about that. And over 150,000 americans have now died from covid19 and we mourn their loss. Like most tragedies this is one that could have been prevented like the president s response to Hurricane Maria and other disasters. The federal governments response has been nowhere near up to the challenge. Instead this administration is now trying to change the narrative by attacking its own citizens at home and weakening the United States abroad. Across the world our allies in new zealand, japan, australia, south korea and many in europe have taken the science and the threat of covid19 seriously. The result is that they are beginning to return to normal. Even countries with very different systems than ours such as communist vietnam and cuba are beginning to reemerge from this deadly disease. Secretary pompeo, the best practices of these countries is simple. Isolate, track and trace, quarantine and wear a mask. We dont even know if the National Security advisor has met with you or other members of the National Security counsel lately. The u. S. Has not done those things sufficiently and here we are. Secretary pompeo, you and the white house seem to want to blame china for our inability to respond to this pandemic as well as to our allies. Is it true their handling of the virus and its true their handling of the virus at the early onset was problematic, but we are responsible for our own response. Do you think the president should look to europe, south korea, japan and other more successful nations to learn about how to better contain this pandemic . An awful lot to unpack there, senator. First, i would tell you that some of the countries you identified youre looking at the data theyre putting out, its worthless. So when youre comparing it to data from other countries when not in a Senate Hearing put that data forardwise positive of those conditions in other con. Its silly and the facts are not tracking, theyre not counting cases. So we need to make sure we have a shared factual database. How, we should look everywhere get best practices how to respond to this. And i know dr. Birx who works for me theyve done that and well continue to make sure we protect the American People in an appropriate way. Thank you, senator. With that the committee is going to be at ease subject to the call of the chair for approximately ten minutes. Committee will come to order. Next up senator vuroso. I appreciated your co ents, Opening Statements specifically related to nord stream 2 and i wanted to ask a bit mre