White House sidestepping Congress to freeze foreign aid

The Trump administration has ordered the State Depart- ment and the United States Agency for International Development to freeze much of the remaining money for foreign aid this year, in a move that suggests the fund- ing could be cut altogether.

The decision, issued in a letter by the Office of Management and Budget, covers a broad range of foreign aid that Congress already had approved. It halted, as of Saturday, the agencies’ ability to distribute what the decision’s critics estimated to be $2 billion to $4 billion of funding.

The State Department and the aid agency, commonly known as USAID, must give “an accounting” of all “unobligated resources” of foreign aid, meaning funding that has not been officially designated yet for specific purposes, the letter said.

The letter identified 10 areas of aid to which the freeze would apply, includ- ing development assistance, global health, contributions to international organizations, international narcotics control and peacekeep- ing activities.

The money under review covers the fiscal years 2018 and 2019, which ends on Sept. 30. Agencies often wait until the end of a fiscal year to designate funds.

“This administration’s contempt for Congress is astounding,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday. “When Congress decides how much we spend on foreign assistance, it isn’t a suggestion. It’s the law, backed up by the Constitution.”

Critics of the order noted that the funding was less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the federal budget.

“In a reckless and irre- sponsible move, OMB appears set on taking a sledgehammer to one of the most minuscule parts of the entire federal budget that would significantly damage America’s security and economic interests — and thwart congressional authority,” said Liz Schrayer, the chief executive of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a nonprofit group that is an advocate for Amer- ican diplomacy and counts large companies and nongov- ernmental organizations as members.

The order came at the start of a long congressional recess, but lawmakers are asking the State Department about the decision. A senior Democratic aide said Tuesday that Congress had allocated the funds to protect national security interests.

The move would set a precedent for future admin- istrations to ignore spending bills and eliminate spending obligations, the aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because mem- bers of Congress were still determining how to respond.

A spokeswoman for the budget office, Rachel Sem- mel, said that federal agen- cies had a responsibility to properly use the money provided by Congress. “In an effort to ensure account- ability, OMB has requested the current status of several foreign assistance accounts to identify the amount of funding that is unobligated,” she said.

A State Department representative acknowledged the review and said only, “No decision has been made on what will be done with those funds.” Additional questions were referred to the Office of Management and Budget.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the office’s letter on Tuesday. The Washington Post first reported on the letter on Monday.

The Trump administration has proposed drastic cuts to foreign aid in all its budget proposals, but Congress has rejected those moves each time. President Donald Trump has criticized foreign aid in general, cutting aid to Palestinian refugees and three Central American countries, among others. He has said the Central American nations must prevent their citizens from trying to migrate to the United States.

After the review, the Office of Management and Budget could return to the Treasury Department money for projects it considers unnecessary, a process known as rescission. The office would send a rescission package to Congress, which would then have 45 days to decide whether to approve ending the funds.

The office’ s gambit is based on timing, its critics say. Congress is in recess until Sept. 9, so even if it rejects a rescission package, the State Department and USAID will have only until the end of that month, when the fiscal year ends, to designate the funds.

The money remains frozen at least until the budget office finishes its review. If the office recommends sending the funds back to the Treasury, Congress must approve the action within 45 days or the agencies keep the funds.

But the aid agency’s window to designate the money opens only after Congress acts or the 45 days expires.