Statement By Leading Humanitarian And Development Organizations Against Any Rescissions Within Foreign Assistance Budget

As implementers and advocates for humanitarian and development assistance, we urge the Administration to reconsider recent steps to freeze funds for U.S. foreign assistance programs and ask Congress to reject any potential rescission of funds. Together, we release the following joint statement:

“As organizations committed to addressing poverty and alleviating human suffering around the world, we stand together against any freezing of funding for foreign assistance. These funds are critical to helping improve humanitarian and development outcomes for the world’s most marginalized people.

“The Administration’s repeated attempts to rescind U.S. foreign assistance programs leads to instability in U.S. assistance efforts and puts lives at risk at a time of global crisis. This must stop.

“Attempting to cancel life-saving and life-improving funds that have already been appropriated by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support is dangerous and unparalleled. The cancellation of funds would imperil strategic investments and put countless programs at risk for sudden closure, further endangering some of the world’s most vulnerable people and reversing progress. These proposed cancelations threaten America’s leadership and standing in the world.

“The current freezing of funds is the first step to roll back funding for vital programs that provide direct support for health, education, protection, food security, democracy, human rights, and disaster relief while also building the capacity of countries to meet their own needs.

“Together, we operate in nearly every country across the globe and have seen first hand the life-saving impact of these dollars. We are concerned that rescinding these funds that have already been appropriated by Congress will stop critical programs from moving forward and will undermine the ability of NGOs to plan with a focus on impact and sustainability.

“Foreign assistance is not—and never has been—a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats have continuously supported investments in humanitarian and development programs. We strongly urge Congress to reject any potential cuts, ensure that funds reach the communities and families as intended and if necessary, require the expeditious obligation of any funds in a continuing resolution for FY 2020.”

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