Ranking Member Jasmine Crockett delivers opening remarks

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so much to our witnesses for being here. Unfortunately, we are witnessing today yet another political stunt. Plain and simple. Republicans are here drawing a clear line in the sand. They will stop at nothing to advance Donald Trump's agenda and the dangerous blueprint laid out in Project 2025. even if it means targeting the very groups that are working to protect our communities and support our law enforcement agencies. Let's be clear, my colleagues across the aisle have shown little to no interest in working with Democrats on real solutions for the American people instead of addressing pressing civil rights issues constituents actually care about like wrongful deportations of US citizens, ongoing efforts to undermine voting rights, or the serious flaws in our criminal justice system. This committee is spending its time holding a hearing with a title that sounds like it was ripped from a conspiracy blog. This hearing, how leftist nonprofit networks exploit federal tax dollars to advance a radical agenda. Really? I mean, when I listened to you, Mr. Chairman, who I do respect, I heard you say things about why is it that we're given money in other places? And I want to make sure that I answer that question because to put America first looks like we are going to keep American citizens safe. There is a such thing as soft power and that is exactly what we were trying to do when we engaged in things such as USAID. when you start to talk about whether or not um Sesame Street or anything else that's on NPR or PBS ends up in other places, this is so that there is not this warped thought process about the Western world or about the United States. We're talking about making sure that we don't end up allowing people to be radicalized against us because they have um a terrible vision of us because they may be in a government that actually puts out bad, terrible propaganda about us. So for pennies on the dollar, we are able to educate those around the world on who we really are in America and keep Americans safe. Soft power is real power and it minimizes how much money we have to spend, say, on dropping bombs in countries at a random time without, say, congressional authority. But I digress. This kind of rhetoric, whether directed at nonprofits, their leaders, or elected officials, is not only reckless, it is beneath the dignity of this institution. And sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened. Over the past six months, we've seen hearing after hearing do nothing but attack nonprofits as well as those who are just generally on a mission to serve, protect, and uplift vulnerable communities. In just my own committees, this has got to be the second or third time I've had to sit through the same tired narrative. If my Republican colleagues are truly concerned about taxpayer dollars being misused for political agendas, I'd encourage them to take a long hard look in the mirror. But since we're here again spending more of the American people's money and time on political theater, let's at least stick to the facts. Fact. Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice stripped hundreds of millions of dollars from the Office of Justice programs. Money that funded essential community safety initiatives like victim services, gang prevention, and re-entry support. Fact, Trump and Republicans slashed grants to organizations like the National Organization for Victim Assistance, which trains advocates who staff domestic violence shelters, hotlines, and rape crisis centers. Fact: They cut over $10 million in funding to the National Policing Institute, a nonprofit helping rural police departments reduce violent crime. Fact. This week, Republicans are trying to gut PEPFAR, a life-saving program that partners with nonprofits around the world and has saved more than 26 million lives. And let's not forget, many of these cuts were laid out in Project 2025, a radical far-right playbook drafted by hyperconservative nonprofits for the express purpose of dismantling the very government institutions and systems that serve the public good. Ironically, we even have one of the authors of Project 2025 here with us today. So, let's not pretend this is about nonprofit accountability because if it were, this committee would also be investigating the Conservative Partnership Institute, which has pushed anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ plus, and antivax vaccine propaganda and hosted efforts to challenge the 2020 election. Mind you, as we have these organizations that are pushing antivaccine propaganda, we know that measles has reached a 30-year high when measles had actually been over and done with. But now that we don't believe in vaccines, now children are our targets, unfortunately. And yes, they are dying. The New Century Foundation, a white nationalist organization that somehow maintains its 501c3 status to launder hate speech through the language of intellectual inquiry. Or they would investigate Turning Point USA, which has been linked to organizers of the January 6th insurrection. But Republicans aren't talking about those groups because this isn't about accountability. It's about silencing organizations that challenge Republican power. It's about targeting nonprofits that protect the very people this Trump aligned movement continues to harm. These organizations are defending victims of unlawful actions. They're helping to combat global pandemics. They're supporting police departments when this very committee won't. They're working to build safer, healthier communities while Trump and his allies defund them to hand out tax breaks to billionaires. And maybe that's the real threat here. They're effective. They get people off the streets, out of prison, and into opportunity. They educate people about injustice. And that apparently scares some folks more than any so-called radical agenda. Because the only thing truly radical about these nonprofits is their belief that human beings deserve dignity, opportunity, and equal protection under the law. Values my Republican colleagues seem to have forgotten along with love thy neighbor. So instead of demonizing the groups trying to do right by our communities, maybe we should be asking how to support them, how to ensure taxpayer dollars reach the people who need them most. Because this hearing should be about public safety, not political vendettas. Until that happens, these hearings are doing more harm than good. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. chairman and I yield back.