Berman Denounces Foreign Aid Cuts

Ranking House Foreign Affairs Committee member, Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) supported calls from the Obama administration to keep State and foreign aid funding “out of the hands of GOP budget slashers in Congress.” In remarks made on the House floor, Berman denounced H.Res.43, which would reduce “non-security” spending to 2008 levels, calling foreign aid a vital part of our national security strategy as laid out in the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004.  He also stated that, “We should also keep in mind that international affairs accounts for just one percent of the budget. Even if we eliminated such spending entirely, it wouldn’t balance the budget and it wouldn’t make a dent in our national debt. But it would devastate our economy and our national security.”