[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6288153,"mediaKeyId","2544336-dd2159f6a8357f0ab972817ed84cbbda","parentId",2544336,"title","Members and witnesses warn State Department and USAID staffing cuts, aid freezes risk U.S. security and influence","audioSeconds",169,"startMs",4779950,"endMs",4949510,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2544336-dd2159f6a8357f0ab972817ed84cbbda&start=4779&end=4949","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2544336-dd2159f6a8357f0ab972817ed84cbbda/thumbnail_4779950.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6288153/Members-and-witnesses-warn-State-Department-and-USAID-staffing-cuts-aid-freezes-risk-US-security-and-influence","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6288153-9484c90da9edb87ce6e30915a7db68a8/orig.mp4?Expires=1773766216&Signature=AcV~GJem2mUjEwIoKFnVg1nj5pYqMzgtPHeykkSz5hw5vNB6eY0K3j~6m4Olkw~3ik6qIr7YPINeO1J6MMfeKABhsNaXlVCcBPQLYDO9~PHw37hoEyhR70soXaan2nVd-9EfZpjWq762wiuceJiqfZx4lCN0cYmVlFj2CXDqRXgn3oA8uB1aS0AKomh26joHmuwS70B-R3tS3R32JTfr5rb5AhL1vHJzFCIcQ3m03YGwC-rjjZIg90ZeWACnuIfpe09jaKb7xLgxs7q7uRMrptWd3L9U-EkvpfPa3yJ~0IFUpRz-zmGEjQ6KEnalWD-4k~4OwyHtWLiN3H6vV54DXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs","date","2025-03-06T19:42:42Z","article","Members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and witnesses at a reauthorization hearing warned that recent personnel reductions and frozen foreign assistance programs risked U.S. national-security interests and influence in Europe.

Representative Dina Titus (D-Nev.), citing reporting and staff briefings at the State Department, called proposed and executed layoffs “willful and malicious” and said they threaten programs that provide health services, election support and anti-corruption assistance abroad. “This has resulted in thousands of federal employees being fired,” Titus said, and she noted a circulating list of about 700 civil servants who could be dismissed and nearly 700 resignations in the last two months.

Witnesses and members connected staffing and funding choices to concrete policy outcomes. Ambassador James O’Brien said the specialized expertise in ISN and ADS is “second to none” for efforts such as restricting bad actors’ access to advanced technologies, enforcing sanctions and implementing ceasefires. He pointed to a recent enforcement effort that targeted an unregulated “shadow fleet” of tankers as an example in which bureau expertise and interagency work had enabled action.

Members also tied workforce and funding changes to decreases in U.S. ability to support partner countries. Representative William Keating and others said cuts to USAID and other foreign-assistance lines hinder Ukraine’s reconstruction and energy resilience and give leverage to Russia and China in Moldova and parts of the Western Balkans. Representative Titus listed several democracy and governance programs that she said have been eliminated or frozen, including support for Belarusian democratic leaders in exile, election monitoring in Kosovo, media development in Moldova and anti-corruption and energy programs in the Balkans.

Budget figures and program sizes were discussed but not always fully documented in oral testimony. The hearing record contains several numerical references: a past Marshall Plan figure cited as $13,000,000,000 in historical investments to Europe; a USAID agriculture program for Ukraine referenced at about $350,000,000; and witness comments that a supplemental appropriation for Ukraine had involved more than $30,000,000,000 in U.S. company contracts. Members said they intend to pursue further oversight, including requests for GAO reports and written agency responses, to trace how appropriated funds have been spent and whether statutory conditions were met.

The subcommittee did not vote on any measures at the hearing. Members and witnesses urged the committee to pair reauthorization language with oversight steps to preserve technical expertise, ensure accountability for assistance dollars and mitigate the security implications of personnel and program reductions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Arms Control, International Security, and US Assistance to EU: Review & Reforms for State Department","oneSentenceSummary","Members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee and witnesses raised alarms that proposed workforce reductions at the State Department and freezes or cuts to foreign assistance, particularly at USAID, threaten U.S. national security, assistance to Ukraine and influence in Moldova and the Western Balkans.","taxTitle","Foreign Affairs: House Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1826,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6288158,"House Foreign Affairs subcommittee opens State Department reauthorization hearing, focuses on ADS, ISN and EUR",3327,2080860,5408185,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2544336-dd2159f6a8357f0ab972817ed84cbbda&start=2080&end=5408","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2544336-dd2159f6a8357f0ab972817ed84cbbda/thumbnail_2080860.jpg","/articles/6288158/House-Foreign-Affairs-subcommittee-opens-State-Department-reauthorization-hearing-focuses-on-ADS-ISN-and-EUR","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6288158-fb96ce780cbcb4c154e91ecb5c91d36e/orig.mp4?Expires=1773766216&Signature=Sg4GUoxKJShzLGy6B2AyBa0aLHQpngru11pCY1kxpYvoTZ7yTdRXvol50Xj9THovgioQqDTPLIvBspFHpz9pZ4BXhB6IrEOgk-VRxVZW0xYu4nMLE-UIh-IZgHgE4PMEarSE84d8i77fMdzORcMryWfDz8~BB0N79Vb7DhPV0noHQvdhvVKv~UstSV11YM4PC0YpDfxv6vSBd4k7Iunu2OFISbiSJzlFEIRUP2ByOiGV3~oLe4I7CccWj3gtL3kDcuic0WmhzvT~ArpPro3LTzu3FGoyyNNOSIfBw96A~0C6ROaawHj1vmWKqomLA8EaV3cBX8BKdWqhU01hIgAPcA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe convened a hearing to begin work on State Department reauthorization and the jurisdiction of three bureaus: the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability (ADS); the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN); and the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR). The chair opened the hearing saying, “The subcommittee on Europe will come to order,” and said the panel’s purpose was oversight and to “ultimately authorize the bureaus into law.”

Why it matters: Reauthorization would give Congress an opportunity to clarify statutory authority, staffing expectations and funding oversight for bureaus that handle arms control, nonproliferation and U.S. policy in Europe. Several witnesses told the subcommittee those changes could affect U.S. ability to negotiate arms-control measures, deter malign actors and coordinate assistance to allies.

Three witnesses — Yleem D.S. Poblete, former assistant secretary for verification and compliance at the State Department; Daniel Kochis, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; and Ambassador James O’Brien, former assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs — urged clearer congressional direction and organizational reform. Poblete said a reauthorization should emphasize ‘‘clear lines of demarcation, transparency and honesty in reporting’’ and recommended reversing practices that she said had marginalized verification and compliance functions. She urged returning to unclassified reporting with classified annexes “as mandated by statute.”

Daniel Kochis described the geopolitical context, telling members that the last comprehensive foreign-relations reauthorization was enacted more than two decades ago and that State Department priorities should be reoriented toward “competition” with strategic rivals such as China and Russia. Ambassador O’Brien emphasized EUR’s role as “the gateway to most global issues” and argued that clear leadership and a consistent approach — rather than frequent reorganizations — are needed to sustain partnerships with transatlantic allies.

On statutory authorization, members and witnesses noted that ADS alone has a statutorily authorized assistant-secretary position; ISN and EUR were described in testimony as currently not authorized in statute. Witnesses recommended consolidating overlapping functions where appropriate, narrowing missions to technical subject-matter experts in arms control and nonproliferation, and ensuring verification and compliance authorities are not subordinated to regional bureaus.

Several members linked reauthorization to specific policy priorities. Ranking Member Representative William Keating (R-Mass.) and others pressed witnesses on how reauthorization should support U.S. assistance to Ukraine and measures to counter Russian and Chinese influence in Moldova, the Balkans and other parts of Eurasia. Ambassador O’Brien urged the committee to ask whether restructuring “advances the president’s objectives” and whether allies could be persuaded to increase their own contributions.

The hearing did not include formal votes. Members reminded witnesses that written statements would be included in the record and said the subcommittee will use the testimony to guide drafting of reauthorization language and oversight questions going forward.","Members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe heard testimony from three former State Department officials and a Hudson Institute fellow about reauthorizing and reshaping the bureaus responsible for arms control, nonproliferation and U.S. policy toward Europe.","actionData","errors"]

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Members and witnesses warn State Department and USAID staffing cuts, aid freezes risk U.S. security and influence

House Foreign Affairs subcommittee opens State Department reauthorization hearing, focuses on ADS, ISN and EUR