American Jewish World Service (AJWS) strongly urges members of the U.S. Congress to reject the Trump Administration’s second rescission package, which includes $4.9 billion in foreign assistance cuts across multiple fiscal years. This is another brazen attempt to weaken the role, power and oversight of Congress. And it further diminishes the United States’ reputation on the global stage.
This latest package’s largest cut includes slashing a massive $3.2 billion from initiatives that provide emergency food for children, fund literacy programs and allow millions of people to access clean drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene, as well as menstrual hygiene products and handwashing stations.
The first rescissions package, approved by a narrow majority in July, reversed funding previously approved for programs supported by U.S. foreign assistance. These programs helped combat infectious disease outbreaks, strengthen democracy and tackle corruption around the world. These funding cuts have been devastating for marginalized peoples around the world, especially in communities already reeling from the sudden closure to USAID.
A second rescission package would only compound this injustice. Additionally, the package was sent to Congress with less than forty-five days left in the fiscal year, a callously calculated move that means funding could expire before it can be used for new programs.
AJWS calls on members of Congress to oppose the Trump Administration’s second rescission package and include an extension in their end of fiscal year funding resolution so that these funds do not expire on September 30, 2025. Capitulating to more recklessly sweeping funding cuts would not only further erode Congress’s constitutional authority to appropriate these resources, but gravely endanger America’s ability to be safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
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