The Hill: Cutting foreign aid is a mistake — and the consequences will be severe
Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

“…A lot of people may look at foreign assistance and think it’s a waste of money. That’s simply not true. In fact, because of the U.S. commitment to reducing the child mortality rate, an estimated 100 million children have been saved since 1990. Additionally, maternal mortality rates have dropped 44 percent. … With simple, cost effective interventions — like immunizations; treatment for diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria; and improved sanitation — millions of children are alive today that otherwise wouldn’t be. … By slashing our foreign aid budget, we risk undoing 30 years of remarkable progress. We are at the point of being able to end preventable maternal and child deaths in low-income countries if we wanted to. The treatments are there; it’s just the political will that is missing. … As we prepare to discuss the fiscal year 2018 federal budget, I’d like my colleagues in Congress to focus on how to make vaccines and other life-saving interventions available to more kids in the world…” (6/13).