“To claim that one is strengthening national security while at the same time cutting the budget for front-line national security departments and agencies is nothing but a Ponzi scheme, one certain to fail and at great cost to the American people.”
Senator prioritizes robust funding for America’s diplomatic arsenal
“The United States of America’s budget is ultimately a statement about American values, yet the Administration’s proposed cuts to the State Department and to the foreign assistance budget are an unreasonable and unjustifiable rejection of American values and global leadership.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders ((I-Vt.) Friday to share his views on the FY 2018 International Affairs budget and programs, as required by the Congressional Budget Act.
“To say I am deeply concerned about the proposed thirty-seven percent cut to the State Department and foreign assistance budget suggested by the Trump Administration is a gross understatement. Such a blunt broadside, if enacted, would leave the United States less safe and less secure in an increasingly complex world, unable to advance our ideals or to secure our prosperity,” Senator Cardin told Senators Enzi and Sanders. “To claim that one is strengthening national security while at the same time cutting the budget for front-line national security departments and agencies is nothing but a Ponzi scheme, one certain to fail and at great cost to the American people.”
Senator Cardin highlighted a number of priorities under the State Department’s jurisdiction including sustained funding for democracy and human rights promotion and protection, and good governance and anti-corruption initiatives. The Senator also noted the importance of continuing State’s role in foreign military financing and counter-ISIS operations, as well as raised an alarm about devastating cuts impacting foreign aid and that, “for all intents and purposes end meaningful humanitarian aid.”
“The Budget Committee, as it considers the FY18 Budget Resolution, must reverse these ruinous administration proposals and assure that the International Affairs budget provides resources commensurate with our urgent national security needs and continued U.S. global leadership, and match the scale of the challenges we face around the globe,” Cardin continued. “The United States of America’s budget is ultimately a statement about American values, yet the Administration’s proposed cuts to the State Department and to the foreign assistance budget are an unreasonable and unjustifiable rejection of American values and global leadership.”
Click here for the full text of the letter.
###