WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the statement below regarding the consultation note suggesting that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) may be reorganized under the United States Department of State.
“I’ve said for years that the greatest national security threat Americans face is our skyrocketing national debt. We must confront this, and to do so hard choices will need to be made, and all parts of government will have to be looked at very closely.
“The idea of merging USAID and the State Department has been floated by nearly every administration since USAID was established by Congress in 1998. I’m supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to reform and restructure the agency in a way that better serves U.S. national security interests. Today I, along with a number of my colleagues on relevant committees on both sides of the aisle and the Hill, received notification that Secretary Rubio is beginning the process of merging USAID into State, and I will work closely in consultation with him on this process.”
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