Evergreen Talking Points

Terminations of U.S. International Assistance: 

Placing America’s Security, Economic, and Humanitarian Interests at Risk  

SUMMARY: U.S. international assistance is a critical part of America’s ability to lead on the world stage – giving us the eyes, ears, and relationships necessary to protect our national security, secure markets for  U.S. businesses and products, and prevent global threats from reaching our shores. Shutting down these  programs puts millions of lives at risk and threatens our U.S. national security and our economy. 

Ceding Ground to China and Endangering Our National Security 

• China is taking full advantage of this freeze to grow their global influence. China has  already stepped in to provide support for demining programs in Cambodia – a strategic national security  and economic partner to the U.S. – that ended. A Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)  infrastructure program in Mongolia, visibly attributable to the United States and run by U.S. companies,  has been terminated - Mongolia is ground zero for countering China, as a mineral-rich ally on China's  doorstep with a short construction season. With our departure, China will take credit for the $240  million the U.S. has already spent on tangible infrastructure to deliver clean water. 

• In Syria, humanitarian assistance was cut off for nearly 900,000 people in desperate  conditions, turning America’s back on Syrians at a fragile moment after the fall of Bashar al Assad and leaving a door wide open for ISIS and other malign actors to win the hearts and minds  of those who are most vulnerable. 

• In Iraq, U.S. support for efforts to detect and halt the movement of terrorists across  borders has stopped. These include: In Benin, a multiyear program to train the army for  counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda-linked militants, and in Somalia, U.S.-supported  laboratories that analyze ballistics, DNA, bombs, and other evidence linked to extremist activity  – and then pass that information onto the FBI. 

• In Syria, the U.S. ended support for nearly 900,000 people in desperate conditions,  turning America’s back on Syria at a fragile moment after the fall of Bashar al-Assad and leaving  a door wide open for ISIS and other malign actors to win the hearts and minds of the most  vulnerable. 

• The U.S. shut down support religious minorities in Iraq such as Christians and Yazidis,  who have been targeted by ISIS. In Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis were massacred by the  Islamic State, the shutdown of this program has ended delivery of water and electricity, basic  health care, school construction, and support for community centers for Yazidis returning after a  decade of war. 

• In Kenya, ending U.S. support that has helped Kenyan police secure the country’s 430- mile border with Somalia is making a stalwart U.S. ally once again vulnerable to the threats  of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and terrorist attacks.  

• In the Sahel, a fragile and strategic region of Africa, the departure of U.S. forces has left  now-frozen humanitarian initiatives as the major U.S. presence in the region. As one senior  military official said in a recent interview, “When you take that away, our ability to shape the  environment is gone... and we know that predator nations will dive in.”

Undermining Efforts to Reduce Migration at America’s Southern Border 

• Programs in Central and South America to combat transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking have stopped, opening the door for more illegal narcotics, including  fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, that are killing thousands of Americans. 

• Also terminated was the Sustainable Economic Transformation program in Colombia,  which was decreasing dependence on coca cultivation that funds illegal armed groups that  destabilize a region home to over 40 % of illicit crop plantations. This program was an  important counter to Chinese influence with Colombia’s decision to join China’s Belt and Road  Initiative. 

• Delivery of food and basic services has been suspended for at least 56,000 Venezuelan  refugees and host community members across Colombia designed to encourage them to  remain in place rather than attempt to migrate north to the United States. 

Hurting American Farmers and Businesses  

• Food aid shipments and new purchases of U.S. food have stopped – hitting the  pocketbooks of American farmers while putting more than 36 million people worldwide at  imminent risk of starvation. American farmers supply more than 40% of the food aid USAID  delivers, and the U.S. government purchases more than $2 billion in crops from American  farmers each year. 

• 13 American universities have shut down their Feed the Future Innovation Labs – including Kansas State University, the University of Florida, Mississippi State University,  University of Nebraska, University of Illinois, and Purdue, halting development of cutting-edge  innovations to save lives, which will hand China a strategic scientific and market advantage.  

• U.S. states are estimated to lose $3.34 billion in direct economic benefit from the  termination of international assistance programs that support American jobs. We’re already  seeing this happen in Georgia and Rhode Island, where factories that manufacture and ship a  lifesaving therapeutic food to feed 400,000 severely malnourished children have shut down  operations. 

Risking Lives and Spread of Deadly Diseases 

• The global program to monitor and detect bird flu, Ebola and other deadly diseases in 50  countries was terminated – this comes at a time when egg prices are soaring here at home because of a dangerous bird flu outbreak, one American has already died, and more than 35 million birds have been killed. Stopping this program means we will no longer have eyes on how bird flu and  other diseases are spreading around the world, putting Americans’ health and safety at grave risk.  

• Two flagship U.S. global health programs - PEPFAR and the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) – have been gutted, ending delivery of lifesaving care for tens of millions of people to prevent the spread of HIV and malaria. In addition to saving lives, these programs have  engendered enormous goodwill for the U.S. and support for our foreign policy and national  security priorities. 

• 1.25 million people have lost access to lifesaving food, health, and nutrition services in  Sudan. Nutrition services have been stopped for over 250,000 people, leading the way for famine  to take hold. More than 80% of community partners providing emergency food aid have closed,  as well as 48 health facilities serving over 300,000 people.