Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined 19 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to restore funding for global health, development, and humanitarian programs. In the wake of the Trump administration’s abrupt termination of key foreign assistance programs and personnel without review, the senators highlight the national security imperatives of U.S. global health efforts, which keep Americans safe, strengthen U.S. leadership, and increase global stability.

“The Trump Administration’s freeze on foreign assistance and opaque waiver process, coupled with the attempted dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has significantly weakened our ability to respond to emergencies, left gaps in disease surveillance, and undermined global partnerships— leaving a vacuum that our adversaries are eager to fill,” the senators wrote.  

Without American global health programs, current outbreaks of infectious diseases like Ebola, Marburg Virus, and Bird Flu have the potential for spreading to U.S. soil. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an infectious disease can spread from a remote village to a major city in the United States in as little as 36 hours. Additionally, the foreign assistance funding freeze has stopped critical Malaria interventions before peak transmission and paused many clinical trials and data collection endeavors that require continuous data collection. As a result, product development for desperately needed drugs and vaccines have been brought to a halt. 

“The U.S. cannot afford to withdraw from the global stage. Weak health systems in already fragile regions create opportunities for infectious disease to spread unchecked, for extremist groups to gain influence, and for adversaries to expand their reach,” they continued.

The senators warned Secretary Rubio that Russian leaders have publicly praised the decision to dismantle USAID, an agency that helps counter China’s efforts to expand its Belt and Road Initiative in Africa and Latin America. Additionally, China is already stepping in to fill the vacuum left by the United States at the World Health Organization.  

“We urge you to reverse the damaging personnel actions at USAID, and swiftly restart U.S. investments in global health, development, and humanitarian aid—not just as a moral obligation, but as part of the necessary strategy to protect America’s national security. In the meantime, there must be a clear process to achieve and implement waivers for these critical programs… Restoring these investments and the professional staff with training and skillsets to implement these life-saving programs will strengthen global health security, reinforce our leadership on the world stage, and make us safer at home,” the senators concluded.

U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

Dear Secretary Rubio,

At a time when the world faces increasing instability—from disease outbreaks, to violent conflicts, to economic crises—U.S. investments in global health, development, and humanitarian aid are more than acts of goodwill; they are strategic imperatives contributing to our strength, security, and prosperity. Without strong and sustained U.S. leadership, American lives and economic stability is at risk.

The Trump Administration’s freeze on foreign assistance and opaque waiver process, coupled with the attempted dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has significantly weakened our ability to respond to emergencies, left gaps in disease surveillance, and undermined global partnerships— leaving a vacuum that our adversaries are eager to fill.

The freeze on global health activities is particularly troubling. There is resounding evidence that global health programs protect Americans. Recent history has shown that infectious disease outbreaks in distant regions can quickly reach U.S. soil, causing devastation to lives and livelihoods. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a disease can spread from a remote village to a major city– including in the United States– in as little 36 hours. Such deadly diseases continue to emerge in countries which need assistance to respond. Consider the following examples:

1. Ebola: Uganda is currently experiencing a deadly outbreak of Sudan Ebola virus in its capital city of Kampala, with a population of 1.9 million people. Suspected cases have also been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) global health programs are critical to helping countries control and manage these outbreaks. The 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak spread beyond the region, with cases reaching the U.S. and Europe. American led investments in global health systems helped contain the crisis, prevented further transmission and strengthened global preparedness. Just within the last four years, USAID and CDC frontline health responders played critical roles in halting 11 similar outbreaks, but we are unaware of any USAID personnel having been deployed to Kampala to specifically respond to the outbreak. The Trump Administration’s retreat from these investments has left the world—and the U.S.—more vulnerable to future outbreaks.
2. Marburg Virus: Tanzania recently confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus—an illness as deadly as Ebola, but with less treatment and vaccine options. This deadly outbreak has highlighted the urgent need for disease surveillance and rapid response. The U.S. has long been a leader in these efforts, but the freeze on USAID has hindered our ability to detect and contain these threats before they become global crises.
3. Malaria: While malaria may seem like a distant problem, it deeply affects regions where the U.S. has significant interests. The next few weeks, just before peak transmission, are critical for malaria prevention campaigns. Malaria is preventable, but if this particular window is missed, lives will be lost, most of whom will likely be children. The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has reduced cases and deaths worldwide, fostering healthier, more productive societies and reducing the risk of political instability and migration crises. The halt in U.S. funding threatens decades of progress. According to Malaria No More, halting PMI programs for 90 days would prevent the delivery of approximately: 9 million insecticide-treated bed nets; 25.3 million rapid diagnostic tests for malaria; 15.6 million life-saving antimalarial treatments; 48 million doses of seasonal malaria chemoprevention; and safe, effective indoor residual spraying for 3.8 million people.
4. Bird Flu: Bird flu has already caused one death in the U.S. and is currently circulating throughout America’s livestock. With the foreign aid freeze, the monitoring of bird flu effectively ends in 49 countries, leaving the U.S. in the dark regarding a pressing threat should the virus evolve or mutate to start spreading more rapidly among humans.
5. PEPFAR: Though the waiver for certain PEPFAR activities is slowly being implemented, critical prevention services remain paused. Without access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and other prevention services, HIV transmission will increase, risking an upsurge of the disease across partner countries and undermining the more than $100 billion in U.S. investment contributed toward the HIV response to date.

In addition, the foreign assistance funding freeze has paused many clinical trials and data collection endeavors that require continuous data collection. This will significantly delay the product development timelines for desperately needed drugs and vaccines. Clinical trials are now hanging on by a thread and will have to shut down soon if the pause is not lifted. This risks the health of the trial participants around the world and the lives in the U.S. and globally that could be saved thanks to the results of these trials. Furthermore, U.S. global health programs that treat, monitor, and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Polio, and other infectious diseases are all vital to saving lives and keeping Americans safe.

The U.S. cannot afford to withdraw from the global stage. Weak health systems in already fragile regions create opportunities for infectious disease to spread unchecked, for extremist groups to gain influence, and for adversaries to expand their reach. Already, Russian leaders have publicly applauded the decision to dismantle USAID, an agency that is also uniquely positioned to forestall China’s expansion of its Belt and Road Initiative in Africa and Latin America. China is already trying to fill the vacuum left by the United States at the World Health Organization when President Trump issued his intent to withdraw. Investing in foreign assistance, including global health and development programs, strengthens our alliances, promotes stability, and reduces the need for costly emergency interventions and military engagements.

We urge you to reverse the damaging personnel actions at USAID, and swiftly restart U.S. investments in global health, development, and humanitarian aid—not just as a moral obligation, but as part of the necessary strategy to protect America’s national security. In the meantime, there must be a clear process to achieve and implement waivers for these critical programs. Nearly all USAID staff and critical implementing partners have been eliminated and payment systems are not functioning for the vast majority of implementers, rendering the waiver process irrelevant. Restoring these investments and the professional staff with training and skillsets to implement these life-saving programs will strengthen global health security, reinforce our leadership on the world stage, and make us safer at home. Sincerely,