Huffington Post: The Return on Investment of Foreign Assistance
Hari Sastry, director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the U.S. Department of State

“…Despite its small sliver of [the] U.S. federal budget pie, [the U.S. foreign assistance budget] has enormous effect on U.S. national security and development goals … [and] works on behalf of the American people to end the scourge of epidemic diseases like malaria; bolster democracies around the world; counter violent extremism; enhance nations’ law enforcement capacity; and much more. … America is at the forefront, a leader in addressing the various crises around the world that are producing more disasters, more refugees, and more global health pandemics than we have ever seen before. We step up because it’s the right thing to do, because our core American values dictate equality and freedom for all. We step up because when we lead, we promote U.S. national security goals and development objectives abroad. We step up because when our global community is thriving — healthy, at peace, and economically sound — we thrive” (3/8).