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Rodney Frelinghuysen (I)
RTo be claimed
Former Chair, Appropriations Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Chair, Defense Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives
Chair, Appropriations Committee, New Jersey General Assembly, 1988-1989, 1992-1994
Former Chair, Appropriations Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Chair, Defense Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives
Chair, Appropriations Committee, New Jersey General Assembly, 1988-1989, 1992-1994
Astrological Sign:
Taurus
— Awards:
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No
1. Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Unknown Position
2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
1. Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No
1. Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline?
- Yes
2. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes
Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No
Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No
Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- Yes
1. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- Yes
Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No
Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support?
- Yes
1. Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts?
- Unknown Position
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should be illegal when the fetus is viable, with or without life support.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should always be legally available.
- X
4. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
5. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer
6. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer
7. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and notification requirements as decided by each state government.
- No Answer
8. Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial birth" abortion.
- X
9. Prohibit public funding of abortions and public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
10. Support "buffer-zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least five feet from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
- X
11. Provide funding for family planning programs as a means to decrease the number of abortions.
- X
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Agricultural
- Greatly Decrease Funding
2. Arts
- Maintain Funding Status
3. Defense
- Greatly Increase Funding
4. Education
- Maintain Funding Status
5. Environmental
- Maintain Funding Status
6. International aid
- Maintain Funding Status
7. Law enforcement
- Maintain Funding Status
8. Medical Research
- Greatly Increase Funding
9. National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA)
- Slightly Decrease Funding
10. National Parks
- Slightly Increase Funding
11. Scientific Research
- Maintain Funding Status
12. Transportation and Highway Infrastructure
- Maintain Funding Status
13. Welfare
- Maintain Funding Status
14. Other
- Eliminate Funding
15. Would you support enforcing the spending limits agreed to in 1997 by the President and Congress to balance the budget?
- Yes
1. Armed Forces personnel training
- Maintain Funding Status
2. Covert intelligence operations
- Maintain Funding Status
3. Defense plant conversion
- Maintain Funding Status
4. Military hardware
- Maintain Funding Status
5. Military space shuttle missions
- Maintain Funding Status
6. Pay for active duty personnel
- Greatly Increase Funding
7. National Missile Defense Program
- Maintain Funding Status
8. Modernization of weaponry and equipment
- Greatly Increase Funding
9. Programs to improve military retention rates
- Greatly Increase Funding
10. Research and development of new weapons
- Greatly Increase Funding
11. Troop and equipment readiness
- Greatly Increase Funding
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Defense
- No Answer
2. Education
- No Answer
3. Federal debt reduction
- Highest Priority
4. Medicare
- No Answer
5. Social Security
- Highest Priority
6. Tax cuts
- Highest Priority
7. Other
- No Answer
1. Less than $25,000
- Greatly Decrease
2. $25,000 - $75,000
- Greatly Decrease
3. $75,000 - $150,000
- Greatly Decrease
4. Over $150,000
- Greatly Decrease
5. Other
- No Answer
6. Over $40, 000
- Greatly Decrease
7. Alcohol taxes
- No Answer
8. Capital gains taxes
- Greatly Decrease
9. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer
10. Corporate taxes
- No Answer
11. Gasoline taxes
- No Answer
12. Inheritance taxes
- Eliminate
13. Charitable deductions
- Greatly Increase
14. Medical expense deductions
- Greatly Increase
15. Mortgage deductions
- Maintain Status
16. Child tax credit
- Greatly Increase
17. Earned income tax credit
- Maintain Status
18. Student loan tax credit
- Slightly Increase
1. Do you support replacing the current U.S. income tax structure with a flat income tax?
- Undecided
2. Should a married couple filing jointly pay the same taxes as if they were an unmarried couple filing separately?
- Yes
3. Would you cut taxes if there were an operating surplus?
- Yes
4. Would you cut taxes and use Social Security surpluses to supplement the difference?
- No
5. Other
- No Answer
1. Support public taxpayer funding for congressional candidates who comply with campaign spending limits.
- No Answer
2. Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
- X
3. Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
- No Answer
4. Provide free or low-cost television advertising to candidates who agree to voluntary campaign spending limits.
- No Answer
5. Ban unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
- X
6. Prohibit non-U.S. citizens from making soft money contributions to national parties or party committees.
- X
7. Require full disclosure of funding sources of issue advocacy commercials which appear within 60 days of an election.
- X
8. Make campaign spending limits mandatory for all federal candidates.
- No Answer
9. Remove all contribution limits on federal candidates and parties, but require complete and immediate disclosure via the Internet.
- No Answer
10. Require congressional candidates to raise over half of their campaign money from their home state.
- No Answer
11. Other
- X
1. Broaden the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- X
2. Increase spending to build more federal prisons.
- No Answer
3. Impose "truth in sentencing" for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
- X
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
5. Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
- X
6. Increase penalties for crimes committed on school grounds.
- X
7. Increase funding for community policing programs.
- X
8. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- No Answer
9. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
- No Answer
10. Enforcement of civil rights should primarily be the responsibility of the federal government.
- X
11. Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony.
- No Answer
12. Provide block grants to states for implementation of programs to combat juvenile crime.
- X
13. Impose harsher penalties for youths convicted of violent offenses.
- No Answer
14. Support the use of "boot camps" as alternative sentencing for juvenile offenders.
- No Answer
15. Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
- No Answer
16. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase penalties for selling illegal drugs.
- X
2. Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
- X
3. Support capital punishment for convicted international drug traffickers.
- X
4. Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs.
- No Answer
5. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
6. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
- X
7. Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs."
- No Answer
8. Other
- No Answer
1. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer
2. Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any publicly-funded school.
- No Answer
3. Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any participating school: public, private or religious.
- No Answer
4. Allow parents to use tax-free savings accounts to send their children to any publicly-funded school.
- No Answer
5. Allow parents to use tax-free savings accounts to send their children to any participating school: public, private or religious.
- X
6. Support charter schools where teachers and professionals receive authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- X
7. Promote education flexibility by giving federal funds, in the form of block grants, to the states to spend it as they see fit.
- X
8. Increase funding for block grants to states to help them hire additional teachers.
- X
9. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- No Answer
10. Increase funding for computers and computer training in public schools.
- No Answer
11. Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- No Answer
12. Eliminate restrictions on federal education funding, giving educators or local school districts more flexibility to design and implement their programs.
- X
13. Support affirmative action in public college admissions.
- No Answer
14. Eliminate federal financial aid for individuals convicted of drug offenses.
- No Answer
15. Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.
- X
16. Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
- X
17. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide tax credits for companies that move job-creating industries into areas with high unemployment.
- No Answer
2. Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- No Answer
3. Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
4. Establish empowerment zones in areas with large numbers of unemployed people.
- X
5. Eliminate any federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
- No Answer
6. Increase the federal minimum wage.
- No Answer
7. Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
- X
8. Provide tax credits for businesses that offer on-site child care.
- No Answer
9. The federal government should consider race and sex in making government contracting decisions.
- No Answer
10. The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
- No Answer
11. The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs.
- No Answer
12. The federal government should utilize merit and qualifications in making government contracting decisions.
- X
13. Other
- No Answer
1. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
- X
2. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
- X
3. Waive environmental review requirements for grazing permits.
- No Answer
4. Revise the 1872 mining law to increase the fees charged to mining companies using federal lands.
- X
5. Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately owned land.
- No Answer
6. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- X
7. Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline or diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
- X
8. Promote the selling of pollution credits between nations to encourage industries to decrease pollution levels.
- X
9. Strengthen logging restrictions on federal lands.
- X
10. Reduce current federal regulations on the environment.
- No Answer
11. Give states added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environment regulations.
- X
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- No Answer
2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X
3. Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- No Answer
6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- X
7. Increase penalties for the possession of any illegal guns.
- X
8. Hold gun owners responsible for crimes committed with their guns by children age 16 and under.
- No Answer
9. Raise the minimum age for ownership of handguns from 18 to 21.
- X
10. Require background checks of gun buyers at gun shows.
- X
11. Require a license for gun possession.
- No Answer
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
2. Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income.
- No Answer
3. Support health care strategies focused on prevention, including health education, and natural medicines and remedies.
- X
4. Support a Patient's Bill of Rights to define and enforce the rights of insured patients, including greater access to specialists and emergency rooms, wider choice of health care providers, and appeal mechanisms when claims are denied.
- X
5. Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes the right to sue when claims are denied.
- X
6. Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes the right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied.
- No Answer
7. Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees.
- X
8. Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts, which would be taxed if used for purposes other than medical costs.
- X
9. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
10. Allow states and local communities to use federal funds for needle-exchange programs to combat the spread of HIV.
- No Answer
11. Provide citizens age 55-65 the option of purchasing Medicare health coverage.
- No Answer
12. Support legislation to provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
- X
13. Increase funding for AIDS programs.
- No Answer
14. Other
- X
1. Decrease the number of immigrants allowed into the country.
- X
2. Increase the eligibility of legal immigrants for certain social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps).
- No Answer
3. Require the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to reduce the time between applying for citizenship and taking the oath of allegiance to six months.
- No Answer
4. Provide extra federal aid to states with higher numbers of immigrants for necessary medical and social services.
- No Answer
5. Prohibit states from passing laws that deny human services (medical care, education) to illegal immigrants or their children.
- No Answer
6. Grant U.S. citizenship to children born in the US only if their parents immigrated legally.
- No Answer
7. Increase the immigration quota for computer scientists and other information technology workers.
- No Answer
8. Establish English as the official national language.
- X
9. Support the separation of the INS into two bureaus: one administering naturalization and one administering border patrol.
- No Answer
10. Increase state autonomy in handling immigration issues.
- No Answer
11. Reimburse states for providing services to illegal aliens.
- X
12. Other
- No Answer
1. Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
- X
2. Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the U. S.
- X
3. Aid should be granted to countries that are close allies of the U. S. and in need of financial/military assistance.
- No Answer
4. Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
- No Answer
5. Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated except for extraordinary circumstances.
- No Answer
6. Other
- No Answer
1. The U.S. should resolve future disputes with Iraq only through diplomatic means.
- No Answer
2. The U.S. should take unilateral military action if Iraq does not comply with all accepted United Nations resolutions.
- No Answer
3. The U.S. should take military action against Iraq only as part of an international effort.
- X
4. The U.S. should end the economic embargo against Iraq.
- No Answer
5. The U.S. should not continue to play a prominent leadership role in the peace process between Israel and the Palestine Authority.
- No Answer
6. The U.S. should continue to play a prominent leadership role in the peace process between Israel and the Palestine Authority.
- X
7. Other
- No Answer
8. The U.S. should participate in United Nations peacekeeping missions only when vital U.S. interests are involved.
- X
9. The U.S. should not commit military troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
- No Answer
10. The U.S. should withdraw completely from the United Nations.
- No Answer
11. The U.S. should pay its debt to the United Nations.
- X
12. Should the U.S. have full diplomatic relations with Cuba?
- No
13. Should the U.S. have full diplomatic relations with China?
- Yes
14. Should the U.S. recognize and extend full diplomatic relations to Taiwan?
- Yes
15. Should the US maintain ground troops in Kosovo?
- No
16. Do you support the cooperative threat reduction programs with Russia to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to unfriendly nations?
- Yes
17. Do you support modifying the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in order to deploy the National Missile Defense System?
- Undecided
1. Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
- Yes
3. Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
- Yes
4. Do you support China becoming a member of the World Trade Organization?
- Yes
5. Do you support imposing tariffs on products imported from nations that maintain restrictive trade barriers on American products?
- Yes
6. Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation status) with the United States?
- Yes
7. Do you support normal trade relations (most favored nation status) with Vietnam?
- Yes
8. Do you support granting the President "fast-track" authority in trade negotiations?
- Yes
9. Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
- Yes
Do you believe there has been a decline in moral and ethical standards in America over the last four decades?
- Yes
1. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.
- No Answer
2. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government.
- X
3. Invest a portion of Social Security's assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of U.S. Treasury securities.
- No Answer
4. Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
- No Answer
5. Lower Social Security's annual cost-of-living increases.
- No Answer
6. Limit Social Security benefits based on recipients' other income and assets.
- No Answer
7. Require individuals to pay the Social Security tax on incomes above $68,400 (which is currently exempt).
- No Answer
8. Support a lock box measure, limiting Congress's ability to spend Social Security and Medicare surpluses on any other federal programs except Social Security and Medicare, until each program's long-term solvency is guaranteed.
- X
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Continuing the moratorium on Internet sales taxes.
- X
2. Implement regulation of Internet content by the federal government.
- No Answer
3. Support on-line voter registration.
- No Answer
4. Support voting on-line.
- No Answer
5. Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television.
- No Answer
6. Support strict penalties for Internet crimes such as hacking and Internet violence.
- X
7. Support strong Internet privacy laws.
- X
8. Regulating the Internet should not in any way be controlled by the federal government.
- No Answer
9. Other
- X
Do you support amending the Constitution to limit the number of terms which members of Congress can serve?
- Yes
1. Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
- No Answer
2. Provide homeless families with apartment vouchers they can use to supplement the cost of an apartment.
- No Answer
3. Continue to give states and local governments responsibility for welfare programs through TANF block grants.
- X
4. Maintain current welfare-to-work requirements in order for states to qualify for block grants.
- X
5. Restore food stamp programs to legal immigrants.
- No Answer
6. Transfer homeless housing programs to states through block grants.
- No Answer
7. Provide continued Medicaid benefits for those welfare recipients who have moved from welfare to work.
- No Answer
8. Require states to return any unused welfare block grant funding to the federal government.
- No Answer
9. Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based or other non-profit organizations.
- X
10. Other
- No Answer
H.J.Res.143 - Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes.
Latest Action: 12/07/2018 Became Public Law No: 115-298.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 10/12/2018 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 09/26/2018 Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Tracker:By Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen The conventional wisdom is that Washington is broken. However, if one were to go looking for what actually works in Congress, one need only look to the House Committee on Appropriations. This committee, charged with providing the funding for every federal government program, agency and office, passed 28 bills this year alone. This total includes the "regular" FY 2017 and the FY 2018 appropriations bills, several stopgap "Continuing Resolutions" and two emergency disaster assistance bills to aid the victims of hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. These 28 bills were developed, drafted, debated and passed between January and October of 2017, upholding Congress' authority under the Constitution to fund our obligations at home and abroad. In essence, we completed more than two appropriations cycles in just eight months. The ultimate achievement was passage in September of all 12 of our FY '18 appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. This was the first time it had been accomplished since 2004 and it was done through "regular order" with each of the bills fully debated, along with over 400 amendments. Furthermore, the deed was accomplished within just four months of receiving the details of the new President's first budget proposal -- a new congressional record. Of course, process and speed are important. But so, too, are the actual contents of these bills which contain important funding for projects in New Jersey. A prime example is the more than $900 million the committee included for eligible programs such as the Gateway project in the New Jersey-New York area. Now more than ever, it is imperative to our economic survival. While important, Gateway is just one example of provisions that will benefit New Jersey. To protect our state from emerging terrorist threats, the committee continued to fund the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which assists the New Jersey-New York Metropolitan Region with efforts to build and sustain the capabilities to prevent future 9/11s. We also doubled funding for Nonprofit Security Grants to support security enhancements for synagogues and other faith-based centers which were targeted earlier this year in a series of bomb threats. The committee also supported New Jersey Task Force 1, which responded to lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, and performed critical work during this year's hurricane season. In addition to providing funds for New Jersey's military installations, Picatinny Arsenal, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Naval Weapons Station Earle and the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, the legislation includes funding that will increase New Jersey's military contributions. For example, the committee provided significant new funding to allow scientists and engineers at Picatinny, the DoD Joint Center of Excellence for Armaments, to accelerate their work to ensure that our weapons systems overmatch those of our adversaries. The bill also includes funding to expand production of the new KC-146 air refueling tankers that will soon be stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, enhancing the future missions, and jobs, at the New Jersey base. The committee also provided full funding for the Chemical Safety Board, a program slated for elimination by the Trump Administration. We approved a $28 million increase in the Superfund hazardous waste clean-up program and targeted an additional $10 million for open space preservation from willing sellers in the New Jersey Highlands, a major source of drinking water for northern New Jersey. The committee also continued to fund the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the Green Brook Flood Control Project, and boosted the number of disabled people who will be able to use "Frelinghuysen Rental Vouchers" to pay their rent. In fact, many programs important to New Jersey, such as Community Health Grants, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and research and development at colleges and universities, including New Jersey Institute of Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology and others, were funded despite the President's attempt to slash or eliminate them. At the same time, the Appropriations Committee recognizes our obligations to the next generation. Clearly, we need to reduce government spending. And we have, with bipartisan support, cut discretionary spending to levels, not seen since Fiscal Year 2008. We have come very far in just a few months: 28 bills developed, drafted, amended and passed this year alone. But we also have much work to do to complete our work on behalf of the nation and our state.
By Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen Reaction to President Donald Trump's recent address to the U.N. General Assembly continues to ripple across the globe. Of course, much of his "America First" message was actually directed at our adversaries. But regardless of the intended target audience, it is very clear that we have much work to do to convince the world that America is not actually stepping back from its historical leadership role. During my recent travels across North Africa and Southeast Asia, I met with foreign leaders eager for constructive engagement with "official" Washington and, specifically, the new administration. Many were grateful for a congressional visit to show support for their efforts toward democratization. Our own State Department embassy's "teams" welcomed our delegation to counter-balance fears of growing American isolationism. It is no secret that this administration is attempting to change our foreign policy approach to the world -- friends and foes alike. Under James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, the administration is beginning the long-delayed process of rebuilding our Armed Forces by accelerating research and development on new armaments and the procurement of new weapons systems including additional modern warships, aircraft, missiles and cyber capabilities. This effort is imperative if we are to meet a range of challenges -- new and old -- to our military preeminence. However, if we are to protect and enhance our national security, we need more than a military-heavy approach, and it is no secret that we are not investing in the "soft power" of diplomacy. This case in point is illustrated by the president's proposed 33 percent cut to the State Department's budget in his May 23 budget and additional talk of implementing "efficiencies" and "consolidation" of departmental, operations and staff. The House Appropriations Committee has attempted to moderate these unwise proposals. We understand the administration's desire to encourage more burden sharing by our allies. Assuming this effort is bound to falter, we cannot afford unilateral diplomatic disarmament! Ceding the field militarily, economically and diplomatically to China or Russia or Iran today will only result in increased fiscal and defense costs tomorrow. Our military leaders frequently remind us that the family is the backbone of our military strength. The same must be said for our Foreign Service, which should be expanded, enhanced, supported and protected to allow our Foreign Service officers to conduct their vital duties for us around the world. We need more diplomacy, added visits by senior U.S. government officials, greater involvement by the Agency for International Development (USAID) and other federal agencies, more support for hardworking non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and more military-to-military engagement in North Africa, and places like Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Yes, "hard power" is essential. But, after all, it is the "soft power" of diplomacy and engagement that will determine if, as the president said at the U.N., "we lift the world to new heights, or let it fall into a valley of disrepair." Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding Township, represents the 11th congressional district and is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
