Schatz Statement On Trump Request To Rescind Foreign Assistance Funding

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s request to Congress to rescind nearly $10 billion in previously-enacted funding.

“The Trump administration is seeking to codify its evisceration of American foreign assistance. Make no mistake: doing so will make Americans less safe, less secure, and less prosperous.

“Gutting global health programs like PEPFAR and slashing food and other life-saving assistance will cause mass death and starvation and compromise our health and safety here at home. Decimating economic and development programs abroad and abandoning global bodies like the United Nations will make it harder to advance American interests while at the same time paving the way for China to expand its influence.

“I’m open to making changes to the budget in ways that benefit Americans and the country. But the way to make changes to what we invest in and by how much is through bipartisan appropriations bills – which we’re currently negotiating – not by jamming them through a partisan process that hasn’t been used in decades.”

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