House panel unveils foreign aid cuts, backs US-Mexico wall
(Worthy News) – House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled legislation slashing $10 billion from foreign aid, a sharp reduction but not as deep a cut as President Donald Trump wants, the Washington Times reported.
The House Homeland Security funding subcommittee approved a $1.6 billion down payment to construct Trump’s long promised wall along the U.S-Mexico border, including funding for three segments of wall and fence in Texas and the city of San Diego.
The House foreign aid cuts spared Israel and Egypt and exempted the budget for protecting U.S. embassies overseas. But it slashed U.S. payments to the United Nations by $600 million and cut funding for multilateral organizations focused on topics such as climate change and debt relief by more than 60 percent. Direct U.S. economic aid to poor and unstable nations absorbed a $4.2 billion cut to $22.7 billion. [ Source ]