Florida lawmakers hold key as Congress weighs foreign aid

Press Clip Source: Public News Service
By: Trimmel Gomes 

Last year’s freeze on foreign aid programs and a later $7 billion rescission by Congress did lasting damage to the flow of foreign humanitarian aid, according to an advocate with Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Megan Rodgers, U.S. government policy and advocacy manager for the international civilian protection organization, said the cuts did more than eliminate services. They also damaged trust with communities in conflict zones.

“It's really important that we're trusted by the community, especially in these really tense conflict dynamics,” Rodgers emphasized. “When we just abandon and we say, ‘Sorry, we can't do this programming anymore,’ with no warning, it's very difficult to come back in and reinstate that programming, because we've lost that confidence from the community.”

Congress is now negotiating the fiscal year 2027 budget.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., chairs the House Appropriations Committee, which rejected some Trump administration foreign aid cuts last year, though it still approved a 22% reduction overall.

Rodgers pointed out lawmakers also face broader decisions, including whether to reauthorize the Global Fragility Act and whether to consider legislation that could strip nonprofits of tax-exempt status without due process.

She stressed Floridians have more power over those decisions than they may realize because two of their representatives are involved in the appropriations process.

“Congressman Diaz-Balart and Congresswoman Frankel are both the leadership for the Foreign Aid Committee in Congress, that appropriations committee that sets these budgets,” Rodgers said. “Floridians actually have a really significant impact on this through their legislative officials.”

Rodgers added Congress has constitutional authority over the budget and can hold the administration accountable.

She urged Floridians to contact their representatives in support of robust humanitarian funding, addressing atrocities in Gaza and Sudan, opposing indiscriminate weapons transfers, reauthorizing the Global Fragility Act and investing in community violence intervention programs.

Rodgers argued as global violent conflict is soaring, proactive investment helps keep Americans safer by avoiding shockwaves to the global economy.