Reps. Walkinshaw, Fitzpatrick, Raskin, & Conaway Lead Bipartisan Push to Hold Administration Accountable on Foreign Aid

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-VA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Herb Conaway (D-NJ) joined the bipartisan grassroots network Alliance 4 American Leadership at the Capitol on Thursday, demanding that the administration release billions of dollars in foreign assistance that Congress approved and the President signed into law. The public calls from four members of Congress followed A4AL’s first Hill Day, where 120 advocates traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with 92 congressional offices from both parties, and 16 Republican offices pledged to call Director Vought directly and demand the funds be released. If the money is not assigned to programs by the end of September, $3.2 billion appropriated for global health and development will expire and be lost. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA): “I would challenge anyone, Republican, or Democrat, the President, or Russ Vought—anyone—if you saw a child starving would you take a dollar out of your pocket to feed that child?” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA): “This is about American leadership. At its best, American leadership saves lives, keeps our country safe, strengthens our allies, counters our adversaries, and reflects the best of who we are as a nation…This is one of the most effective tools the United States of America has.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08): "We hold the power of the purse and a Congressional appropriation is a federal law. Thus the president must take care to faithfully execute all budget appropriations. Trump has violated the Constitution by shutting down USAID and now withholding $19 billion in congressionally appropriated foreign aid. His refusal to write the checks for USAID’s lifesaving global programs against malaria, HIV/AIDS and hunger is a deadly form of law-breaking." Rep. Herb Conaway (D-NJ): “Follow the Constitution, follow the dictates of the Impoundment Act, and let's help people. Let’s be the great country that we are…USAID has prevented over 91 million deaths globally .” Asher Moss, Executive Director of the Alliance 4 American Leadership: "Foreign assistance does not belong to the left or the right. It belongs to America. In a national poll last November, 72% of Republicans said they support foreign assistance…Our ask is simple: follow the law, spend the money, and keep America safe." Leaders from the American Federation of Government Employees and American Foreign Service Association also joined the event. According to a June 22 ProPublica investigation , the Administration is deliberately slowwalking the delivery of foreign aid funds, declining to obligate funds Congress earmarked for global health and humanitarian programs. The Office of Management and Budget, headed by Director Russell Vought, rather than assigning hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to specific programs, has instead labelled it "unallocated," giving itself control over whether the money is ever spent. By the end of March, the administration had only obligated roughly five percent of the global health funding it would normally have moved by that point. Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House and Senate Appropriations Committees have sent public letters to the Administration regarding this issue. The Alliance 4 American Leadership (A4AL) is a bipartisan coalition of more than 70,000 Americans and 2,000 volunteers, representing every congressional district. Video of the press conference: https://youtu.be/65EdmdKax_s?si=Y3TO88HE0u5M6M1L Photos from conference: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1urzpnHbKfLVay_WEgbd1KSLrYp6iga9h?usp=sharing All photos and videos are taken by the Alliance for American Leadership (A4AL) and are in the public domain. ###