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The Weekly GAB Friday, March 17, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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USGLC in the News

POLITICO
Critics Warn Trump That Gutting Foreign Aid Will Endanger U.S. |

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Nahal Toosi and Josh Dawsey

Many budget detractors are confident that Trump's proposal will never
become a reality due to bipartisan resistance in Congress. Liz
Schrayer, president and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition,
pointed to loud dissent in Congress as evidence that Trump alone won't
control the narrative. "He has a bully pulpit, and he's
communicating a message of how he sees what we should be doing with
our budget, but there are other people sending out other messages,"
she said. Many of the budget blueprint's detractors are, predictably,
advocacy groups such as Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee.
But joining them are Christian activists, retired military officers
and business leaders.

NPR
Trump Unveils 'Hard Power' Budget That Boosts Military Spending |

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Jessica Taylor, Danielle Kurtzleben, and Scott Horsley

The president ran [his campaign] saying he would spend less money
overseas and more money back home," Mulvaney said Wednesday. "When you
go to implement that policy, you go to things like foreign aid, and
those get reduced." Critics argue the administration's single-minded
focus on hard power is short-sighted, and could ultimately be
detrimental to national security. They point to past comments from
Defense Secretary James Mattis, a retired Marine general, who once
told lawmakers, "If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I
need to buy more ammunition, ultimately."

FOREIGN POLICY

Trump's Budget Blueprint: Pulling Up the Diplomatic Drawbridge
|

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Colum Lynch and Dan De Luce

The budget blueprint unveiled Thursday is short on details, and faces
long odds in Congress, where Trump's fellow Republicans
expressed serious reservations about numerous funding cuts. If
adopted, the proposed combination of cuts to the State Department and
USAID would mark the lowest level of funding for these programs since
fiscal year 2002 in real, inflation adjusted terms, according to the
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a bipartisan group that promotes
foreign aid. The Global Leadership Coalition estimated that overall
cuts would slash 31 percent of State's 2017 budget.

VOICE OF AMERICA
US Lawmakers Criticize Cuts to Diplomacy, Foreign Aid |

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Cindy Saine

Asked about the impact of cuts to foreign aid to people suffering from
famine and conflict around the world, Mulvaney said it should come as
a surprise to no one that the president plans to spend more money at
home and less money abroad...But this fundamental shift in spending
priorities has drawn swift criticism from a number of Republican and
Democratic members of Congress. Liz Schrayer is president and CEO of
the U.S Global Leadership Coalition, a nonprofit group that promotes
U.S. diplomacy. She said she was encouraged by the swift public outcry
on Capitol Hill. "So we're seeing a reaction at a
bipartisan level from very conservative members of the Congress to
very progressive members of Congress that are already reacting in just
the few hours that this budget has been out by saying, 'No this
is not where we're heading and we're not going to accept
it.'"

Faith Leaders' Letter Press Round-Up

FOX NEWS
Faith Leaders Lobby Congress Against Foreign Aid Cuts |

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Rich Edson

Insisting it is their moral responsibility, more than 100 American
Christian leaders are urging Congress to reject proposed steep budget
cuts to foreign aid. "795 million people still go to bed hungry
every night. Matthew 25 tells us when we serve the least of these, we
are serving the Lord," the religious leaders said in a new letter to
congressional leadership. The letter came as President Trump released
his budget proposal for fiscal 2018. The plan seeks significant
military increases, offset by cuts elsewhere, especially at the State
Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. That
total budget is targeted for a 28 percent, or $10 billion, reduction.

CBS NEWS

More Than 100 Faith Leaders Send Letter Opposing Trump's Budget Plan |

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Peter Martinez

The State Department reductions have received criticism from Democrats
and Republicans, and more than 100 faith leaders are adding to the
outcry in a letter addressed to House and Senate leadership that was
obtained by CBS News. Evangelical and Catholic leaders, pastors,
recording artists like Amy Grant, and other high-profile Christians
are urging lawmakers to support the State Department and USAID which
administers civilian foreign aid. Thursday's letter follows on
the heels of one sent last month by more than 120 retired generals who
expressed concern over cuts to the non-defense budget by Mr. Trump.

CBN NEWS
Why Some Evangelical Leaders Oppose Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts |

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Gary Lane

More Than 100 Evangelical and Catholic leaders from across the country
are urging the U.S. Congress to oppose President Trump's proposal to
make cuts in the International Affairs Budget. They sent a letter to
the congressional leadership today saying they want the budget
protected because as followers of Christ, they have a moral
responsibility to ensure that America continues to be the "shining
city upon a hill" that every day "brings hope to poor, hungry,
vulnerable and displaced men, women and children around the world."

CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Evangelical Leaders Challenge Trump's 'America
First' Budget |

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Kate Shellnutt

The leaders of America's top evangelical aid groups and
denominations urged Congress today to reject proposed cuts to foreign
aid in a letter signed by more than 100 prominent Christians,
including 2 of the 6 clergy who prayed at President Donald
Trump's inauguration. "As followers of Christ, it is our
moral responsibility to urge you to support and protect the
International Affairs Budget, and avoid disproportionate cuts to these
vital programs that ensure that our country continues to be the
'shining city upon a hill,'" they stated. The letter
sent to Congress emphasizes the Christian perspective that America
cannot turn away from "those in desperate need" when it
has been "blessed" with resources.

THE BLAZE

More Than 100 Christian Leaders Urge Congress to Reject Trump's
Proposed 'Deep Cuts' to Foreign Aid |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=MlTra-cIRJeL00sdhUG9ig

Tre Goins-Phillips

More than 100 Christian leaders are voicing their opposition to
President Donald Trump's proposed "deep cuts" to
foreign aid. "Today, there are 65 million displaced people, the
most since World War II, and 795 million people still go to bed hungry
every night," the letter said. "Matthew 25 tells us when
we serve the least of these, we are serving the Lord. As people of
faith, we cannot turn our back on those in desperate need." The
faith leaders claim the foreign aid dollars, accounting for about 1
percent of the federal budget, have helped build "peaceful,
productive societies that do not turn to violence or terrorism."

USGLC Military Letter Press Round-Up

THE NEW YORKER
Donald Trump's Voldemort Budget |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=VS3p5OO5Lbp144ncLhxP2g

John Cassidy

Most, if not all, of these domestic policy cuts are unnecessary and
shortsighted. Then there are the deliberate assaults on anything that
smacks of internationalism, or of a benign and coöperative American
presence in the world. What is the point of killing programs like
these? Expenditures on diplomacy and foreign aid make up a very modest
part of the over-all budget, and virtually all national-security
experts agree that they promote America's "soft
power": its ability to advance its interests without resorting
to military force. "The State Department, USAID, Millennium
Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps and other development agencies are
critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men
and women in uniform in harm's way," more than a hundred
retired generals wrote in a public letter last month.

REUTERS
Trump Plans 28 Percent Cut in Budget for Diplomacy, Foreign Aid |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=aDshdcMYFWNGsaUb3htnlA

Arshad Mohammed

President Donald Trump's proposed 28 percent budget cut for U.S.
diplomacy and foreign aid next year would preserve $3.1 billion in
security aid to Israel but reduce funding for the United Nations,
climate change and cultural exchange programs. Congress, controlled by
Trump's fellow Republicans, may reject some or many of the proposed
cuts to the U.S. State Department and Agency for International
Development (USAID) budgets for maintaining America's diplomatic
corps, fighting poverty, promoting human rights and improving health
abroad. More than 120 retired U.S. generals and admirals urged
Congress in a letter last month to fully fund diplomacy and foreign
aid, arguing the functions were "critical to keeping America safe."

CNN
White House Demands Deep Cuts to State, UN Funds |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=BLEi2qrA59BURvHNgQJB_Q

Elise Labott and Zachary Cohen

The White House has instructed the State Department and the US mission
to the United Nations to cut their budgets for UN programs nearly in
half, including US peacekeeping and development assistance, two senior
US officials told CNN on Monday. And last month, several prominent
generals like David Petraeus and admirals like James Stavridis, the
former supreme commander of NATO, wasted little time in
mobilizing...They joined a list of 121 military figures who warned
that State Department diplomacy, aid and programs were vital to
preventing conflict overseas and could mitigate the need for costly
and bloody military deployments.

Who's in the News

TIME
Cutting Foreign Aid Makes America Less Safe |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=43EIvh4qsqKL0r5BefdHPg

Bill Gates

Foreign aid is often in the hot seat, but today the heat is cranked up
especially high. The United States government, one of the
world's most influential donors, is considering dramatic cuts to
health and development programs around the world. I understand why
some Americans watch their tax dollars going overseas and wonder why
we're not spending them at home. Here's my answer: These
projects keep Americans safe. And by promoting health, security and
economic opportunity, they stabilize vulnerable parts of the world.

Development & Diplomacy

NPR

Trump Foreign Budget: HIV Prevention Spared, U.N. And Others Lose Big
|

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=b5MAIqSs4rUmkX0oW8nj-Q

Jason Beaubien

Things are spiraling downward in South Sudan, one of four nations
where, according to the U.N., the greatest humanitarian crisis since
1945 is unfolding. And in the case of South Sudan, it's not drought or
climate change that's causing the catastrophe. It's civil war. Last
month the U.N. declared a famine in two parts of the country and
warned that nearly half the population is in urgent need of food
assistance. This same pattern is playing out in three other countries
in the world right now, prompting the U.N. to declare that it's facing
the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Rex Tillerson Rejects Talks With North Korea on Nuclear Program |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=FhAVWvpCcf9HIpoB9dxGTg

David E. Sanger

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson ruled out on Friday opening any
negotiation with North Korea to freeze its nuclear and missile
programs and said for the first time that the Trump administration
might be forced to take pre-emptive action "if they elevate the
threat of their weapons program" to an unacceptable level. The
secretary of state's comments were the Trump
administration's first public hint at the options being
considered, and they made clear that none involved a negotiated
settlement or waiting for the North Korean government to collapse.
"The policy of strategic patience has ended," Mr.
Tillerson said.


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