Project HOPE Urges Congress to Reject Harmful Cuts to Health and Humanitarian Aid
Proposed FY2026 Budget Cuts Will Cost Lives and Undermine U.S. Security
Project HOPE is deeply concerned by the President’s FY2026 Budget Request, which proposes steep cuts to global health and humanitarian assistance that will diminish America’s global leadership and threaten our national security. These reductions would dramatically undermine U.S. investments in health, emergency response, and stabilization efforts on a global scale.
As a 67-year-old global health and humanitarian organization, Project HOPE witnesses firsthand the lifesaving impact that U.S. international assistance has on communities around the world, as well as the direct benefits that these investments return to Americans.
“When America invests in global health and humanitarian aid, we stand with communities facing crisis, while strengthening the foundations of global stability. These programs save lives, prevent the spread of disease, reduce displacement, and foster peace – all of which makes the world safer and healthier for everyone, including Americans,” says Rabih Torbay, President and CEO at Project HOPE. “Turning our backs will not only cost lives – it will undermine decades of progress and the values that define us.”
Curtailing international aid erodes progress on critical global programs that fight diseases, reduce the drivers of migration, prevent pandemics, and stabilize societies in conflict. Cutting funding for these programs denies life-saving interventions, such as maternal and neonatal care for women and babies, clean water for health clinics and hospitals, basic needs for families displaced by war, and vital medications for children suffering from diseases like HIV and malaria.
“Now is not the time to retreat from smart funding that keeps the United States safe, secure, and prosperous,” says Jed Meline, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Project HOPE. “This is not cutting the fat, this is cutting the artery. We can refine how America invests in international assistance without throwing away decades of taxpayer investments in health.”
Project HOPE calls on Congress to utilize their power of the purse to reject these steep, dangerous, and unwarranted cuts and establish a sound federal budget for FY2026 that ensures that the U.S. continues to lead in ensuring a safe, secure and prosperous future.
