Ranking Member Shaheen Hosts Roundtable on National Security Implications of Halting U.S. Foreign Assistance
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, convened Democratic Senators for a roundtable discussion with experts on the national security implications of halting U.S. foreign assistance and dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Ranking Member said: “Billions of dollars in contracts are being terminated as we speak with no regard for our national safety. There’s been no consultation with DOD or the intelligence community, no consideration for whether China is gaining influence in a given country. Taken together this seems like illegal impoundment. It does not make us safer, it does not more secure and it does not make us more prosperous. And it definitely does not put Americans first. It increases the chances of terror attacks, it increases the number of people coming to our borders, it leaves us vulnerable to deadly diseases and it gives our most powerful adversaries an opening to exploit. These are serious risks. Our foreign aid is less than 1 percent of the overall budget and these USAID programs are a small fraction of that."
During the event, Ranking Member Shaheen asked the speakers how the halting of U.S. foreign assistance has affected our ability to debilitate Mexican drug cartels and stem irregular migration to the southern border. She also heard from panelists that there is a “narrow, but closing window” to reverse the damage to life-saving programs across the world that also benefit Americans at home.
Today’s Congressional participants included:
- Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
- Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
- Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
- Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
- Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
- Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI)
- Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
- Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
- Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
- Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ)
Panelists included:
- Bruce Swartz, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and Counselor for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
- Sarah Charles, Former Assistant to the Administrator for Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development
- Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International
- Cindy Dyer, Former Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State
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