Washington Post: Make America benevolent again
Cathleen Falsani, author, journalist, and member of an advisory board for girls and women at ONE

“As President Trump and his administration create their first budget request for Congress in the coming weeks, they have an opportunity to fund fully the U.S. international affairs account — a decision which is not only the smart choice, but also the benevolent one. Observers fear there may be huge cuts proposed to the foreign affairs account…, which funds all our global health and foreign assistance programs … [including PEPFAR], established by [President George W. Bush] in 2004 with bipartisan support and popular support, particularly among evangelical Christian constituents. PEPFAR has been spectacularly successful, saving millions of lives around the world, especially among what the Bible might call ‘the least of these.’ … During the span of three U.S. presidential administrations, all of which have renewed its fiscal support, PEPFAR has helped mitigate the ‘AIDS emergency’ to such an extent that it is entirely possible we will witness the first AIDS-free generation before the Trump administration ends. But without Trump’s leadership and strong support in the arcane U.S. budget process, PEPFAR and so many other programs that save and improve the lives of millions of souls around the globe will be put at grave risk unnecessarily. … Whether you believe America is great, was great, or might be great again, the key to true greatness is neither might nor bravado, superior fire power nor bombast. It is something substantially smaller yet infinite in its impact. A tiny pill that gives life. A miniscule fraction of our nation’s massive budget that saves millions of lives” (2/24).