Washington journal program. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Secretary of state mike pompeo appeared today before the Senate ForeignRelations Committee to testify about his 2021 budget requested. He was asked about President Trumps tweet about delaying the president ial election. From earlier today, this is just shy of three hours. The committee will come to order. Good morning, everyone. Today we have with us secretary of state mike pompeo to discuss the state departments fiscal year 2021 budget request. Though, if history is any judge, secretary pompeo, you will face a wide variety of questions which i know you can handle. The United States and our allies and partners continue to face serious foreign challenges that will test us for decades to come. China is our chief competitor. Russia too remains a key advair. The efforts of these nations to sow discord and undue 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 the voices of freedom and democracy, propped up 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 inflicted levels of physical and economic harm upon the world that we have not seen in more than 100 years. Here, again, china, especially, but also russia, has played a destructive role from with holding vital Global Health data to spreading disinformation and stealing vaccine research, china and russia have again chosen to be and proven themselves to be adversaries. Sanctioning bad actors will never be enough. The department will need to rely upon a vast array of tools and resources. Our diplomats must be backed by assistance 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 the state departments most critical resources, its people. As the coronavirus emerged from china and accelerated across the globe, you were forced to pull back thousands of our diplomats and their families, but you didnt just pack up and go without a thought of your fellow americans. Instead, the department launched an Unprecedented Mission to help return more than 100,000 americans safely home. All of us who participated in that are greatly appreciative of the departments work in that regard. In some cases, this involved convincing countries to reopen their air space for flights and roads for transport. In our places you chartered planes to get our American People home. There are lots of folks that may never come in contact with the department but now more than 100,000 americans can personally attest to the tremendous work that the 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 eq p equipped to help on all fronts at all times. We have threats that impede this being health or security. But as the saying goes all politics are local. Our adversaries understand this all, too well. We need our diplomats to be included as well. I want to thank you mr. Secretary for your availability. It is important that i have instant facts for information, and you have always made yourself accessible. I sincerely appreciate that. When i am asked for advice from other branchs or allies, it is imperative that i have this information. You have always provided that and you have always made it happen, and for that i have been and remain very grateful. Thank you for joining us this morning, mr. Secretary. It has been awhile since you have joined us and i appreciate you fulfilling your responsibilities. I dont imagine we will see you here any time soon, so while this is your opportunity to defend your stunningly ill received request to slash the budget, i would like to take a wholesale look at how your department represented the American People and American Interests on the world stage over the past year. Unfortunately that view is not good. We have faced set back after set back on the world sage today iran is closer to a nuclear bomb, and iran and their bro approximatproxies continue to get closer. And the president and your administration has, at best, not seriously addressed this threat. You have never fully used the tools that we provided. Failing to take action when evidence emerges that russia was paying bounties to kill u. S. Troops in afghanistan meanwhile the confrontational plus ter at not stopped chinas march in the South China Sea, hong kong, and suppressing their young people. The north korea diplomacy that you ensured you would have wrapped up in a year, as of two years ago, has flatlined. Across africa the state department has been woefully absent on issue after issue after issue. Most recently in its engagement on negotiations related to nile waters. Our approach seems to be antiimmigrant and bullying all while gutting our capacity to deal with the root causes of migration. There is support for ven jay la, but millions are still offering and the administration will not support those who are already exiled here. As we struggle with an opioid epidemic, you oppose cutting our narcotics and law enforcement. On Climate Change you have not just failed to be part of the solution, but you have become part of the problem. Undermining safeguards for our future. Allies routinely wonder out loud if we can be counted on. Our values have been denigrated. From the revisionist and sometimes repulsive views espoused by your so called unalienable rights commission. In the face of a Global Pandemic when we could be leading the global response, we have taken a base seat in witnessing the collapse at home and abroad. Rather than a real strategy, our leaders point fingers at china and the World Health Organization. Are absent from critical global meetings, and refuse to be straight with congress and the American People on the Public Health threat. All the meanwhile infections and deaths surge across the country. We know the strength of our diplomacy starts and ends with the strength of our core. The trumps administrations december nati designaticembe career dip plomats with a disdain for their employees. Many asking if their service is still valued. As President Trump refers to our diplomats as the deep state department you have stood there and said nothing. The result is an exodus of expertise. 7 of the Department Staff left in the first year and a half of the administration. While i realize you were not at the department in that time the department has continued to suffer persistent va cancies. They continue to put forth people who do not represent the American People abroad and are not qualified. When you send them we act. We have more than 190 nominees and dozens have advanced quickly and without incidents. You continue to send us nominees that have allegations against them, and whose conduct disqualifies themselves for service. The administration promised the best people, the best, terrific, tremendous but mr. Secretary, the best people dont seem to want to work for you. I know you were passionate as a former member of congress and at your direction the president recently removed the state departments Inspector General who was investigating, among other things, last years emergency declaration. I, and the Bipartisan Group of colleagues raises serious concerns. Additionally we learned of allegations. Creating at least the appearance of using taxpayer resources to impress high profile political donors. While this hearing is convened for the president s fy 21 budget request, you, i, and everyone else knows that the president s wish to gut our International Affairs budget by a shocking 34 is dead on arrival. Im tempting to to provide it to see how you could actually operate under it. It is misguided and unsuited to the needs of safeguarding our nations security. I recognize youll take issue with what i have said. When you entered office i offered a hand to work with you for building real agendas. Venezuela, iran, russia, china, and indeed im disappointed. As i look at your tenure in office and at the track record of this administration, im disappointed that instead of making America First among the nations of the world, you have instead relinquished our leadership to the applause and approval of china and russia and that makes america last. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As we proceed, first let me say those views are the views of senator menendez individually. We, for the members of this committee we have an 11 30 hard stop. That will give us a round for questions. Ly take a short break halfway through. As usual we will stick with the long standing commitment of this committee. And when the witness is asked a question we will give the witness full opportunity to answer that question and not interrupt his answer simply because he is doing so well at answering the question. I will enforce that strictly. With that, secretary pompeo. Mr. Chairman, i have a parliamentary inquiry. If we have answer thats are filibusters, i suspect that we will not allow that either. Senator menendez. I will run the committee and i will do it as i indicated. We will not interrupt answers from the witness with that secretary pompeo. Thank you. I have a full statement in the interest of time. I will just read the first onethird of that if i could get your agreement to put the rest in the record i would appreciate that. Today i am here for the state department and usaid. Increasing american prosperity and advancing the development of democratic societies. Critically the strategic and efficient results for the American People. I want to make a bigger point. We reflect americas values. Two weeks ago in philadelphia i unveiled the report of the state departments commission. I message that day was simple. We are placed at the core of american i ddiplomacy. Securing american lives in the pandemic, and helping friends across the world cure those rights. On authoritarian threats, we evaluated with the same realism that the american founders did. We see the Islamic Republic of iron for what it is. We have gone full bore on our campaign. We slashed the vital oif revenues. We rallied nations to our side through diplomacy. And we both had military readiness. There is more work to do. The security they already mine ships, study oil facilities, and ships arms. Should the Security Council fail to act we will have a freer hand to so destruction. Russia too is a destabilizing force. This administration is enacted to protect our interests and our frequents. We have supplied you rain with lethal military, we have sanctioned more than 360 targets. From human rights abuses to proxies around the world. The question for the Global Engagement center is 138. Double it million. We wont tolerate this by the kremlin or any other adversaries. Further in russia, two weeks ago they had a swift implementation and an important bipartisan entestify vor. Were the toughest administration ever on russia. Most importantly, on china, we see the Chinese Communist party also for what it is. The central threat on our times. Leading an international awakening. The tide is turning. The number was in the single digits. In the hemisphere, they have stood firm. Its three Major Telecom carriers have also banned untrusted vendors. Denmark has rejected the attempt at sensorship, sweden closed their institutes. They have identified china as a political a potential threat for the first time, and in the region, the South China Sea claims unlawful and ill legitimate as have we and were proud to have stepped up meritime maneuvers. India banned 106 chinese applications that threatened security. Momentum is building to mitigate the threats that the Chinese Communist party indicates. Japan led the g 7 condemnation. The eu condemned the law, too, and also declared china a systemic rival just last year. We agreed to start a dialogue focused sewly on china solely on china for the eus request. We led a multilateral effort to make sure the organization directed a company that gave a darn. We worked hard at this. Our diplomats have done wonderful work and im proud of the progress that were making. In addition to the efforts the department of justice is cracking down on chinese i. P. Threats. We sanctioned them for their brutality and posed export controls on companies that support it and warned u. S. Businesses against using slave labor in their supply chains. We terminated special treatment agreements in onk congress, and we closed our consulate in houston because it was a den of spies. We asked nearly 1. 5 billion for the endopacific region. We want that part of the world to be free, open, and prosperous. With that, mr. Chairman, i will close and im happy to take questions. Thank you, mr. Secretary pip appreciate that. Were going to do a questions on a seniority basis since it is the secretary and cabinet level as opposed to the usual first come rule. And again, i ask each member to be respectful of other members and stick to the five minutes youre allotted. Once we have gone around well make a determination of where were going to go from there. With that senator menendez. What will it be. I intend to do five lets do a seven because that will just about take up the time, but were going to have to stick right to that seven otherwise people wont get a chance. Well do seven. Mr. Secretary, as i outlined, the investment in donald trump by Vladimir Putin continues to pay off handsomely. Troops in germany is not about troops in germany, it is our own National Security interest. Redirecting alternatives, paying for the president s ineffective border wall, and imposing meaningful sanctions. More shocking while we have all known for some time that russia has provided support to the taliban, 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 he never raised the issue with mr. Putin even though he has spoke ton him about seven times this year alone. Mr. Secretary, do you think about how you would react to the behavior if you were in your old house seat . A president that abandoned our troops and did not even raise this with the kremlin . Ranking member, you have identified four items that youre concerned about. Actions with respect to russia and i would like to address each of them. I only asked one question. I dont spend much time thinking about what i would have done if i am in the house of representatives, im focused on my job. Have you raised concerns with russias foreign minister with respect to russia placing bounties on the heads of Service Members in afghanistan . I want to be very careful about what is Public Record and what is intelligence based. But yes, i can assure you that each time i have spoken to foreign minister lavrov, i have raised questions about american soldiers at risk. On the ground, in afghanistan, the activities in libya, ukraine, all of them that potentially threaten American Interest or things i raise in my conversations, and i speak with him with some frequency. I appreciate that answer. I asked specifically, 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. I will be more careful than you are with the intelligence, make no mistake about it, the proper people have been aware of every single threat to our soldiers on the ground in investigation if that was general miller or my team at the embassy. Any time there was a tactical threat on the lives, the health, safety, or security, we have raised this. Not only at my level, but ambassador sullivan and more. We made very clear our threats. Let me turn to a few other questions and maybe you can answer these yes or no. I think theyre just factual in nature. It turkey purchase the s 400 system from russia . Yes. Did they pay about 2. 5 billion . Im not aware of the amount of the transaction . But they did pay them . I believe that is correct. I apologize, im not certain that the cash has been exchanged. Does the turkish government have the s 400 in their possession. They have an s 400, yes. Did they test is on an american built f16. I. Im not going to answer that. Has the president raised the s 400 with president erdogan . I dont talk about things the president speaks about with foreign counter parts. The white house is free to, but im not going to. Let me ask you a simple question. You sent me a response on monday saying you take your responsibilities seriously and youre fully intent to comply with the law. All of these elements clearly are in violation. So over a year since all of these facts have attached, when will the Administration Fall low the law and im pose sanctions impose sanctions on turkey . We have taken significant actions. W