Leaked Budget Document Shows Trump Administration’s Intentions To Significantly Cut U.S. Foreign Aid, Merge State Department, USAID

Devex: Steep U.S. foreign aid cuts outlined in leaked budget document
“President Donald Trump’s budget proposes eliminating funding for development assistance, according to a State Department budget document obtained by Devex on Monday. All development assistance funding is cut in the proposed budget, with significant cuts to global health programs carried out by the U.S. Agency for International Development…” (Saldinger, 4/24).

Foreign Policy: The End of Foreign Aid As We Know It
“…[USAID] anticipates that the budget proposal will necessitate eliminating 30 to 35 of its field missions while cutting its regional bureaus by roughly 65 percent. USAID currently operates in about 100 countries. … In addition to closing missions, global health funding is also targeted … While the Trump budget has committed to maintaining funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the U.S. initiative that combats HIV/AIDS internationally, the State Department’s budget indicates that health programs abroad are set to take [a] … hit in funding. ‘I’ve seen firsthand how U.S. development money saves millions of lives’ said Tom Kenyon, the CEO of Project Hope, a global health nonprofit. ‘There’s just no question people would die from this.’ The administration’s cut to global health funding could also put Americans at risk in the event of a major epidemic…” (Harris et al., 4/24).

Huffington Post: Report: Trump plans to cut foreign aid, merge State and USAID
“…Acting USAID Administrator Wade Warren reportedly told employees during a recent staff meeting that the White House may merge USAID with the State Department in order to comply with Trump’s executive order aiming to streamline the executive branch. The order requires every agency to submit a plan for the approval of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. The administration’s 2018 budget proposal pointedly suggests the consolidation, saying, ‘The need for State and USAID to pursue greater efficiencies through reorganization and consolidation in order to enable effective diplomacy and development’…” (Beavers, 4/24).

The Week: President Trump’s foreign aid budget could decimate global health initiatives
“…Andrew Natsios, the former USAID administrator under former President George W. Bush, warned folding USAID into the State Department ‘will end the technical expertise of USAID’ and ‘be an unmitigated disaster for the longer term.’ ‘What you’re basically doing is eviscerating the most important tool of American influence in the developing world, which is our development program,’ Natsios said…” (Stanek, 4/24).

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