Washington, DC -- Today, Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (NY-05) joined Ranking Member Bill Keating (MA-09) and Democratic Members of the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee, Representatives Dina Titus (NV-01), Jim Costa (CA-21), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Julie Johnson (TX-32), and Sarah McBride (DE-AL), in demanding Secretary Rubio release information on the State Department’s foreign assistance objectives in Europe.
U.S. foreign assistance is a key tool of U.S. foreign policy which strengthens U.S. national security, promotes democratic values, and creates long-lasting bonds between Americans and people around the world. Rather than utilize foreign assistance to strengthen our alliances and partnerships, the Trump administration has taken an axe to the United States Agency for International Development and fired more than 1,300 career State Department employees, doing away with vital institutional knowledge and expertise. At the same time, this administration has slashed foreign assistance budgets and left an unprecedented aid gap that the Department has yet to fill, particularly in Europe.
“Foreign assistance plays a central role in advancing our national security and democratic values. Therefore, we believe the Department should be more transparent and forward-leaning regarding the use of foreign assistance funds to support America’s interests and be accountable to Congress and the American people,” said the Members of Congress. “Unfortunately, after more than 1,300 State Department employees were fired through Reductions in Force (RIFs) and the administration’s illegal dismantling of USAID, we are concerned that the impacts of the Department’s reorganization extend well beyond internal bureaucratic reshuffling…. Put simply, this administration has left an unprecedented aid gap that the Department has yet to fill.”
U.S. foreign assistance is a key tool of U.S. foreign policy which strengthens U.S. national security, promotes democratic values, and creates long-lasting bonds between Americans and people around the world. Rather than utilize foreign assistance to strengthen our alliances and partnerships, the Trump administration has taken an axe to the United States Agency for International Development and fired more than 1,300 career State Department employees, doing away with vital institutional knowledge and expertise. At the same time, this administration has slashed foreign assistance budgets and left an unprecedented aid gap that the Department has yet to fill, particularly in Europe.
“Foreign assistance plays a central role in advancing our national security and democratic values. Therefore, we believe the Department should be more transparent and forward-leaning regarding the use of foreign assistance funds to support America’s interests and be accountable to Congress and the American people,” said the Members of Congress. “Unfortunately, after more than 1,300 State Department employees were fired through Reductions in Force (RIFs) and the administration’s illegal dismantling of USAID, we are concerned that the impacts of the Department’s reorganization extend well beyond internal bureaucratic reshuffling…. Put simply, this administration has left an unprecedented aid gap that the Department has yet to fill.”
View the letter in full here.
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