Ignoring Congress, U.S. orders halt of foreign aid

The Trump administration has ordered the State Department 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 funding 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 had already 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, including development assistance, global health, contributions to international organizations, international narcotics control and peacekeeping 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 ForeignAffairs 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 fundingwas less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the federal budget.

“In a reckless and irresponsible 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 forAmerican diplomacy and counts large companies and nongovernmental organizations as members.

The order came at the start of a long congressional recess, but lawmakers are asking the StateDepartment about the decision. A senior Democratic aide said the move would set a precedent for future administrations to ignore spending bills and eliminate spending obligations.

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.