Democrats and Republicans on Friday banded together to demand that the administration of US President Donald Trump refrain from cutting US$4 billion from the US Department of State and development aid budget.
The rare bipartisan pitch came from the leaders of the foreign affairs committees of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
“These funds, which were appropriated by [the US] Congress and signed into law by the president following lengthy, bipartisan negotiations, are essential to promoting US global leadership and protecting the security of the American people,” they said in a letter. “We urge you to make them available for obligation without further delay.”
The firestorm began with a letter from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to the department and the US Agency for International Development.
It announced a freeze of all budget allocations for the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, for several programs — from peacekeeping and health initiatives to the fight against drug trafficking.
The administration has asked for a detailed review of how the funds are to be spent — leaving open the possibility that the disbursements could simply be canceled.
Such a move “would cancel over US$4 billion in funding vital for American foreign policy,” the lawmakers said.
“Slashing crucial diplomacy and development programming would be detrimental to our national security, while also undermining Congress’ intended use for these funds,” they added.
The letter came from Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez, Republican Senator James Risch, Democratic US Representative Eliot Engel and Republican Representative Mike McCaul.
“It would be inappropriate for any administration, under any circumstance, to attempt to override Congress’ most fundamental power,” they said.
“Such action would be precedent-setting and a direct affront to the separation of powers principle upon which our nation was built,” they added.
Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has repeatedly tried to slash the budget for the department and development aid to foreign countries, while allowing the US Department of Defense’s budget to grow.
Lawmakers have stood firm against such moves, but the administration was nevertheless able to freeze certain aid programs for Palestinians and for Central American countries.
Democrats have said that the funds in limbo were earmarked for the fight against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as US$140 million for the UN Children’s Fund and US$150 million for human rights campaigns.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of