Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, on the Senate passing Trump's foreign aid cuts: "We are causing death."

[Miles Archer]

Senate Passes Trump's Spending Cuts To Public Broadcasting, Foreign Aid

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-passes-spending-cuts-to-public-broadcasting-foreign-aid_n_6878a7c2e4b0b08368f4ce3c

Among the cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those who flee their own countries and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut for programs that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations.

Democrats argued the Trump administration’s animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America’s standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the amount of money it takes to save a starving child or prevent the transmission of disease is miniscule, even as the investments secure cooperation with the U.S. on other issues. The cuts being made to foreign aid programs through Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency were having life-and-death consequences around the world, he said.

“People are dying right now, not in spite of us but because of us,” Schatz said. “We are causing death.”