Lawmakers and experts warn proposed aid and State Department cuts would weaken counterterrorism programs
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Summary
Witnesses and members told the subcommittee that steep reductions to foreign assistance and the State Department budget would reduce training, partner capacity, and U.S. leverage against terrorist networks.
Members of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee and the witnesses said proposed cuts to foreign assistance and the State Department would constrain U.S. counterterrorism capacity abroad.
Why it matters: programs run or coordinated by the Bureau of Counterterrorism, including training foreign law enforcement and judicial officials, rely on foreign assistance budgets; cuts could reduce partner nations' ability to detect and prosecute terrorist actors.
Ranking Member Representative Surefilous McCormick said the proposed reductions would hollow out tools needed to counter terrorism. "The proposed 84% reduction in the State Department and international assistance budget will leave us less prepared to address the threats of global terrorism," McCormick said.
Dr. Byman and Ambassador Sales each testified that U.S. assistance and diplomatic engagement are cost-effective ways to strengthen allied security services. Sales argued that State is the proper hub for aligning foreign assistance with counterterrorism goals; Byman warned that cuts to USAID and related programs would be a setback for U.S. influence and CT effectiveness.
Representative Schneider cited the Anti-Terrorism Assistance program as an example of an effective investment: the subcommittee record notes ATA has trained more than 50,000 law enforcement and security officials in over 100 countries, a capability members said could be diminished by budget reductions.
Members pressed witnesses on the tradeoffs between reorganizing the bureau and ensuring it has adequate funding. No appropriations decisions were made at the hearing; members may submit further questions for the record.