The recent nomination of Ambassador Mark Green to lead USAID gives hope that the administration understands the critical importance of global development to our national security. We are safer and stronger when fewer people face extreme poverty and when basic rights and human dignity are promoted for all citizens of the world.
Without development, the work of our military is lost. We need healthy international economies — 95 percent of consumers live outside the U.S. We need healthy people; infectious diseases can have severe economic impacts as well as lives lost. Military leaders know the value of foreign aid. Economists know it. Doctors know it. Humanitarians know it, too. And it is only less than 1 percent of the budget.
I grew up in Molalla, Ore., and know what poverty is in the U.S., but I have also been to West Africa and rural Mexico. There is a stark contrast in the access to resources.
Luckily, we have a voice through Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who sits on the House appropriations committee. As a champion of maternal health and veteran affairs, I am confident our congresswoman will support USAID if we let her know the importance.
