Durbin lashes out at Trump budget cuts to humanitarian and development assistance

Posted on June 14, 2017

By RFD Radio

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., grilled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on proposed cuts to the international affairs budget, namely humanitarian and development assistance..

Durbin argued that the proposed cuts would make the world less safe and undermine U.S. global leadership on refugees, global education, emergency food aid, and the fight against poverty.

“Our message to the world is we are stepping back America’s first in stepping back now by 30 percent in our expenditures in these programs and you are welcome to fill in to the rest of the world,” Durbin said. “That is our message, the America first message?”

Tillerson replied: “Our message is we are leaning in and asking all of you, all of you to step up and do more.”

Durbin’s response: “I think we and we are leaning on, We are not leaning in and we are leaning on the poorest people on earth.”

Durbin noted more than 20 million people face famine and starvation in Yemen, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia. Meanwhile, a record-breaking 65 million people, including 11 million Syrians, are displaced.

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