In the News

At a press conference today, Democratic members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs spoke out against the Trump Administration’s budget proposal, which would cut the international affairs budget by nearly a third. The members underscored that cutting diplomatic and development efforts would harm American security and diminish American leadership on the global stage. At the press conference, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) delivered the following remarks:

“You don’t make America great again by unilaterally withdrawing from the world. Since WWII, we have been and we remain the essential nation. Ronald Reagan used to talk about making America that shining city on the hill. What he meant was a beacon, a place people could respect, a place people could look to for succor, for human rights advocacy, for protection for a system of values that undergird personal autonomy and communal freedom. That’s who we are.

This isn’t a battle anymore about numbers or budget. This is a battle about who we are as a people and what role we will play in shaping the world we hand over to our children and grandchildren.

There are people who benefit from the United States diplomatic efforts and foreign aid efforts who are fighting for democracy as we speak. Putting their lives on the line counting on us to be their partner, when almost no one else would help. From Mongolia to Ukraine to the Altiplano of Bolivia. This is not the time to retreat. And that’s what this budget does. And the men and women who are here pledge themselves to provide an alternative vision and we will fight this budget for the sake of that shining city on the hill."