House appropriations subcommittee presses oversight after USAID dismantling, warns of PEPFAR, humanitarian impacts

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs convened for a member hearing that focused on the reorganization of U.S. foreign assistance programs and the fiscal-year 2026 priorities for State and related accounts. Lawmakers from both parties warned that recent administration actions to fold or curtail agencies and programs have disrupted life-saving services and sparked legal and oversight disputes.

“Foreign assistance is not a handout. It's a strategy,” said Representative Lois Frankel, the subcommittee's ranking member, arguing that programs funded at less than 1% of the federal budget advance U.S. security and prosperity. Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, testified that the administration’s sudden freeze of foreign assistance “caused utter chaos,” saying clinics and food programs funded by congress sat idle and that courts…