Implications of Foreign Assistance Pause

The issues

Implications of Foreign Assistance Pause

On January 20th, the administration issued an executive order pausing foreign assistance while the State Department completes a 90-day review process. It also granted the Secretary of State authority to waive that pause for particular programs. 

While we share the administration’s interest in ensuring the accountability and efficacy of US foreign assistance, a review must happen while programs continue their vital work on the ground. 

The Secretary’s subsequent implementation guidance went a step beyond the EO and halted nearly all U.S. foreign assistance, only exempting emergency food aid and foreign military financing to Egypt and Israel. The order applies to specific accounts in the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Acts passed by Congress to fund the federal government, namely those in Title III (Bilateral Economic Assistance), Title IV (International Security Assistance), and International Organizations and Programs.

A 90-day freeze will impact over US$9.2 billion in assistance. These provisions cover a vast range of overseas activities that save lives and promote peace and security at home and abroad—from programs to counter trafficking of fentanyl and other narcotics into the United States, to life-saving global health programs, to emergency shelter and services to those fleeing violent conflict. While foreign aid is only around 1 percent of the US federal budget, to help visualize the scale of the pause, the graph below attempts to describe the approximate amount of assistance impacted.

The impact of these programs stretches far beyond what numbers can illustrate. For example, even temporarily halting life-saving HIV/AIDS programs within the global health subtitle would endanger lives and risk dangerous drug-resistance. More than 20 million people receive antiretroviral treatment through US HIV/ADS programs. According to amfAR, over 200,000 people pick up new doses of ARVs every day, ranging from 30 days worth of lifesaving treatment to 6 months. Last year alone, bilateral programs reached 2.3 million adolescent women and young girls around the world who did not previously have access to comprehensive HIV prevention services. A 90-day pause could result in 567,123 fewer women and girls receiving care, more than the entire population of the city of Miami, Florida.  

Other programs that strengthen US national security are also at risk. Funding for emergency shelter and assistance for those directly impacted by conflict in Ukraine, Sudan, and Syria has been stopped. The pause in democracy programs has stopped an organization from documenting and gathering information on Russian and Belarusian criminals responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children so that these individuals can be sanctioned.

Programs aimed at halting the illicit flow of fentanyl into the United States from China and Mexico could be at stake. Foreign military financing and military education training for allied countries such as Taiwan and Jordan hangs in the balance.

These programs not only make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, they also represent the best of American values.

Learn more

Foreign Assistance Pause FAQ