Cuts threaten global progress and U.S. democracy

• Since coming to office the Trump administration has dismantled the USAID agency.

• After an initial freeze on aid disbursement the administration has decided to end 5,341 funding awards and get rid of more than 5,000 employees.

• These drastic cuts will have a devastating impact on programmes providing basic services, including education, in communities around the world.

• U.S. elected representatives have spoken out against the cuts arguing that they are unconstitutional because they override laws passed by Congress.

• IPNEd is gravely concerned for the wider implications of this and other actions taken by the Trump administration for Congress and in turn the U.S. Constitution.

On his first day in office President Trump suspended all U.S. foreign assistance pending a review of the United States Agency for International Development.

Created as an independent entity in 1961, the agency delivers health services, disaster relief and anti-poverty efforts.

The scope of U.S.A.I.D's work was extensive: war relief in Ukraine, peace-building in Somalia, disease surveillance in Cambodia, vaccination efforts in Nigeria, H.I.V. prevention in Uganda and maternal health assistance in Zambia.

The Agency was also the world’s largest bilateral basic education funder, responsible for around one quarter of education aid. That funding was being used to implement education initiatives in 64 low- and middle-income countries, with a strong focus on improving literacy and foundational learning.

On Monday March 24 Congress received a 281-page spreadsheet listing the foreign aid projects the administration plans to continue and to terminate.

The cover letter details the skeletal remains of U.S.A.I.D. after the cuts, with most of its funding eliminated.

Basic education contracts worth millions of dollars have now been cancelled or will not be renewed, impacting education for up to 120 million children across countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia who have benefited from U.S. funded education programmes.

“For instance, in Zambia, where we have been working with members of parliament, learning levels are some of the lowest in the world,” said IPNEd executive director Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly.

“The USAID-funded Let’s Read programme in the country was supporting students across the country in the early grades of primary school, providing literacy assessments, learning materials and teacher training.

“The programme had been addressing poor levels of reading where 2021 assessments showed that just 4% of grade 2 students could read at grade level. The Zambian government had hoped for a renewal of USAID support to continue this work, but this is no longer an option and will undoubtedly lead to fewer children learning to read,” he concluded.

Congressional opposition

Members of Congress have spoken out strongly in opposition to the cuts and how they have been implemented.

Representatives on the National Security Department of State Appropriations subcommittee have sought greater transparency and the restoration of Congressional oversight of funding decisions related to aid. They produced a letter signed by IPNEd members Rep. Lois Frankel and Rep. Mike Quigley, as well as Rep. Grace Meng and Rep. Norma Torres. 

“The Trump Administration’s sledgehammer termination of thousands of State Department and USAID programs—without congressional input or a meaningful review—is wrong. Foreign assistance is not a handout; it is a strategic investment. At less than 1% of our federal budget, these programs prevent conflict, combat terrorism, strengthen our economy, and promote democracy abroad,” said the joint letter.

Letters from multiple signatories in the Senate and in the House have been sent to the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, highlighting concerns.

Unconstitutional action that directly undermines Congress

In addition to the devastating impact that the cuts will have on the lives of people around the world, there are concerns that the President’s actions are unconstitutional.

U.S.A.I.D. was created by an Executive Order issued by President John F. Kennedy (E.O. 10973), based in part on authority provided in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. But a later act of Congress (The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) established USAID as its own agency.

Furthermore the majority of USAID funding is appropriated and authorised by Congress.

“These issues are being considered by the courts but as a matter of principle it is clear that the administration does not have the constitutional authority to decide whether, when and how to close down an agency created by Congress,” said Mr. Nhan-O’Reilly. 

“Unfortunately the decisions in respect of foreign assistance and USAID in particular are just one of multiple lawless acts that collectively amount to a radical assault on American democracy and its institutions.

“As a global parliamentary network we assert the importance and value of the division of powers, of the rule of law and of the rights and responsibilities of national legislatures and their members.

“Whilst our mandate is to support the legislative arm of government to drive educational progress this necessitates respect by all parts of government for constitutional mandates concerning law-making, oversight, and representation.

“We are gravely concerned that the Trump administration is fatally undermining those mandates in the United States,” concluded Mr. Nhan-O’Reilly.