Krishnamoorthi, Stanton, Moulton Urge Secretary Rubio to Protect Funding for Programs Supporting the Philippines Against CCP Aggression

WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reverse plans to nearly zero out critical U.S. State Department funding that supports the Philippines in countering the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) escalating aggression in the South China Sea.

In the letter, the lawmakers highlighted concerning reports that PRC maritime forces recently water-cannoned and collided with Philippine government ships near Scarborough Shoal. They stressed that the Administration’s plans to slash funding for the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) would greatly diminish U.S. capacity to support vital training programs for the Philippines’ maritime law enforcement – programs Committee lawmakers heard during a recent trip to Manila are essential for countering PRC aggression.

“We were extremely concerned to learn that your budget request did not adequately resource INL. As this letter evidences, one source of our concern is the bureau’s importance in building the Philippines’ maritime capacity to the benefit of our national security,” the lawmakers wrote, adding that, “It is imperative that future budget requests continue INL programs that support the Philippines’ maritime law enforcement capacity, as undermining such programs would threaten our national security interests.”

As such, the lawmakers request answers to the following questions by October 10, 2025:

• What are the State Department’s plans regarding the continuation of INL funding for the Philippines’ capacity-building efforts for law enforcement and other operations in the South China Sea?
• Does the Administration expect that any planned cuts to INL funding will impact these programs?
• What support does the State Department need from Congress to ensure Philippine capacity-building efforts proceed at a pace needed to effectively counter Beijing’s unlawful and threatening actions in the South China Sea?
• How does the State Department plan to work with other U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, such as Japan and Australia, to strengthen multilateral support for the Philippines and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea? 

Read the full letter HERE. 

Read the report in Reuters HERE.