1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am deeply concerned by reports of not only growing chaos and dysfunction at the
Department of State, but the Administration’s brazen and illegal attempts to destroy the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID). Mass personnel furloughs of dubious legality
and abrupt, blanket stop-work orders without regard to relevant appropriations laws are causing
immediate harm to U.S. national security, placing U.S. citizens at risk, disrupting life-saving
work and breaking the U.S. government’s contractual obligations to private sector partners.
The Administration’s failure to consult with Congress prior to taking these steps violates the law
and impedes Congress’s constitutional duty to conduct oversight of funding, personnel and the
nation’s foreign policy. The Administration’s failure to expend funds appropriated on a
bipartisan basis by Congress would violate the Impoundment Control Act.
Foreign assistance is critical to supporting U.S. strategic interests around the world. Foreign
assistance protects U.S. national security, advances U.S. values, and ensures the U.S. is the
partner of choice for everything from defense procurement to cutting edge scientific research.
China, Russia and Iran are already moving rapidly to exploit the vacuum and instability left by
the U.S.’s sudden global retreat.