WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday pressed U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green on the Trump administration’s budget to cut USAID funding, arguing that it does not adequately address today’s national security challenges.

“It’s not as if this administration is downsizing America’s footprint around the world. It’s simply that they are proposing downsizing your [USAID’s] footprint in the world, and the footprint of the State Department, while dramatically upscaling the amount of money that we put into the Department of Defense’s footprint overseas. That’s something that I simply don’t understand … I frankly don’t read there to be a larger number of conventional military challenges and a smaller number of nonmilitary challenges.,” said Murphy. 

Murphy also urged USAID Administrator Green to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, made worse by the U.S. support for the Saudi coalition.

“This is now officially the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 22 million people, more than 75% of the population is living in desperate need of aid and protection. … What have you recommended to the White House regarding the U.S. position on the assault on Hudaydah and would you recommend that the UAE halt its operations – this is primarily a UAE operation – to give negotiations a chance?” continued Murphy.

Murphy is the author of “Rethinking the Battlefield,” a comprehensive proposal containing specific recommendations to dramatically increase the United States’ non-military footprint abroad by nearly doubling the U.S. foreign affairs budget – including the State Department and USAID – with an emphasis on funding for international development, additional foreign service officers, anti-corruption efforts, countering propaganda, crisis response, and humanitarian relief. 

Murphy has also been a vocal critic of U.S. support for military campaigns in Yemen that have led to devastating humanitarian consequences and a security vacuum that has empowered terrorist groups. Murphy has repeatedly expressed concern that U.S. participation in Saudi Arabia’s military actions against Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens our own national security interests. Murphy introduced a bipartisan resolution with U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Murphy introduced similar legislation last year. 

The full text of Murphy’s remarks is below: 

MURPHY: Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. In your answer to Senator Kaine you referenced this budget tension between U.S. global leadership and domestic demands but that’s actually not the story behind the administration’s budget, because the budget actually calls for a fairly robust and impressive increase in military spending—one that this Congress has supported. So it’s not as if this administration is downsizing America’s footprint around the world. It’s simply that they are proposing downsizing your footprint in the world, and the footprint of the State Department, while dramatically upscaling the amount of money that we put into the Department of Defense’s footprint overseas. That’s something that I simply don’t understand, because as I read the challenges presented to the United States, I get that there are certainly conventional military challenges that are different today than might have existed 10 years ago. But I frankly don’t read there to be a larger number of conventional military challenges and a smaller number of nonmilitary challenges. So, explain the budget through that prism. Do you support the idea that we need to dramatically plus-up military spending and, in order to pay for it, dramatically reduce the spending that is available to you? That just doesn’t seem to meet the world that I see, and I don’t think it meets the world that you see. 

ADMINISTRATOR GREEN: Senator, I support the president’s budget. I believe that tough choices are being made. I readily admit that we are not able to address every need or opportunity that we see out there. Obviously, our nation’s national security interests, including our hard power needs are significant, I think we all recognize that. As you would imagine, I also believe strongly that the tools that we have and the State Department has are important as well. So, our job will be for the resources that you generously provide, I will make them go as far as they possibly can. I will leverage other investments, working closely with other countries. I will work with the private sector to maximize enterprise-driven solutions. I will look to ramp-up domestic resource mobilization. So, I think my responsibility is, and will continue to be, to make these dollars go as far as possible.

MURPHY: I just don’t want… I think it is unfair for you to leave this committee or the Congress with the impression that this is about balancing domestic needs with international leadership, because it’s not that we’re spending less money globally. It’s that the administration is specifically targeting the State Department and USAID while proposing massive new amounts of money to the Department of Defense.

I want to talk to you about one specific part of the world and that’s Yemen. This is now officially the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 22 million people, more than 75% of the population is living in desperate need of aid and protection. From testimony given to this committee by the State Department, the United States has opposed, for a very long time, the Saudi-UAE coalition’s plans to attack Hudaydah, which is the site through which most of the humanitarian aid flows. Our coalition partners ignored our request and are presently in the midst of launching an attack on that port city, which could result in the complete cutoff of aid over the course of the duration of this campaign, which could last weeks, but it could last months, leading to the death and destruction of massive amounts of that country. So, what have you recommended to the White House regarding the U.S. position on the assault on Hudaydah and would you recommend that the UAE halt its operations – this is primarily a UAE operation – to give negotiations a chance? 

ADMINISTRATOR GREEN: So, we’ve been in constant contact with implementing partners, both back here and out in the field. I can tell you that as of last night, the World Food Program, which is our principle partner there, is still able to deliver food to the port of Hudaydah. As you know, earlier this year, we funded the four cranes that are expanding the capacity of that port. We’re watching very, very closely. What we’ve done is the State Department has urged all parties to respect the work of the special envoy and also to continue…

MURPHY: Well, you can’t respect the work of the special envoy in the middle of an assault on Hudaydah. There’s no work being done by the special envoy right now because there’s an active military campaign. So are you advising the UAE to stand down to give the special envoy a chance or are you supportive of the assault on Hudaydah?

ADMINISTRATOR GREEN: So that is a question for the Secretary of State and the Department of State… 

MURPHY: Are you concerned about the humanitarian consequences?

ADMINISTRATOR GREEN: Oh sure, of course. We are concerned. Again, in fact tomorrow, I’ll be meeting with our NGO partners again. We’ve been meeting with them all the time to do everything we can to be sure that the State Department, the White House, and everybody involved is aware of the humanitarian challenges that are there and doing everything we can to make sure that those needs are met under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. But also, I’ll say that the way you characterize this is accurate. This is a profound humanitarian challenge that we’re working on right now. We are, I believe, the largest humanitarian donor toward Yemen, but this is something that we worry about all the time.

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