Dear Friend –

As the world watches the threats and complexities playing out in Iran and the Middle East, I know you join me – no matter where you are on the many swirling issues – in saluting the men and women of our armed forces. I have long been concerned about the dangers from Iran – and its increasing collaboration with Russia, North Korea, and China – and there is no question that last weekend’s actions will dramatically shift the geopolitical landscape.

One thing that is particularly clear is the need for smart diplomacy and international assistance. We are already seeing diplomatic efforts step up in the race to avoid further escalation and to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon. As we see the fragile ceasefire, the reality is that for a ‘Peace through Strength’ approach, we will need more, not less, of these non-military tools.

I also want to share a readout from USGLC’s spectacular 2025 Impact Forum and an update on the budget issues. We had hundreds of state leaders from across the country join us in D.C. – business and faith leaders, veterans and farmers, mayors and local elected officials from both sides of the aisle. In just one day, these state leaders participated in more than 170 constituent meetings on Capitol Hill – incredibly well-timed as Congress is making critical spending decisions that will have significant implications for the future of America’s role in the world.

• The feedback from Republican and Democratic policymakers on Capitol Hill was very positive.
• With all the misinformation, there was tremendous appreciation for the personal stories from state leaders along with USGLC’s marquee ‘Blueprint for America to Win in the World’ with practical ideas for strengthening U.S. international assistance.
• You can catch the Impact Forum’s quick recap video here.

Check out the other highlights in this latest edition of the GLOBAL GAB including:

• Top Generals Speak Out on Economic Security
• Secretary Bob Gates’s latest on China in the WSJ
• Ongoing Budget Clashes – including a damaging rescission package under consideration in the Senate
• Senator Norm Coleman in the Washington Times on rescission package concerns
• And… some inspiration from Music Superstars and America’s Farmers

These are high stakes times. Your voice is critical, so keep an eye out for ways you can continue to make a difference. And send me your thoughts on the key takeaways from our Impact Forum – I'd love to hear what resonated the most with you at this critical moment.

Many thanks,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB: A deal in the Middle East? Impact Forum Readout, Budget Battles
June 25th, 2025

GLOBAL UPDATE. It’s been an unprecedented two weeks in the Middle East. Following the most direct and consequential U.S. military action against Iran since 1979 – with strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites – President Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. The imperative for diplomacy to advance U.S. national security interests in the coming days and weeks has rarely been higher.

• Return of Farsi Voice of America: In the midst of this conflict, the Administration reactivated Voice of America’s Farsi language broadcasts and brought back dozens of staffers who had been put on administrative leave in March. U.S. Agency for Global Media’s Kari Lake confirmed the news stating, “History is being made, and VOA Persian news service is rising to the occasion to cover it.”

DAMAGING RESCISSIONS. In addition to the FY26 proposal (more details below), the Administration sent its rescission package to Congress to cancel funds that had just been appropriated by lawmakers a few months ago. In a razor-thin vote – and a rather dramatic moment where the initial vote was primed to fail – the House passed the damaging proposal to permanently cancel $8.3 billion in critical U.S. international assistance resources for national security, humanitarian, economic development, and global health programs.

• All eyes are now on the Senate as it takes up the package, where there are already strong questions about the efficacy of these cuts. The Appropriations Committee will kick off the debate with a critical hearing later today.
  
  
• Read former Republican Senator Norm Coleman’s op-ed in the Washington Times on the consequences of the rescissions package:

• On the importance of U.S. international assistance: “Few things are more central to American strength than the strategic use of diplomacy and international assistance to protect our way of life, and few things are more critical to ensuring military action is as limited and effective as possible.”
  
  
• His call to action: “I urge my former colleagues to carefully consider the unintended consequences of this rescissions package and to take a hard look at the risks, not in spite of their commitment to fiscal responsibility, but because of it.”
  
  
• On U.S. leadership: “America doesn’t win by walking off the field. We win by leading with strength, with principle, and with a clear-eyed understanding that retreat has never been our style.”

2025 IMPACT FORUM. USGLC welcomed nearly 500 of our state leaders to Washington, D.C. for this year’s 2025 Impact Forum under the banner: “When America Leads, America Wins.”

Economic Security is National Security: Exploring the nexus of economic security, economic statecraft, the technology race, and U.S. national security, two panels of top leaders joined the USGLC main stage as part of USGLC’s Global Economic Hub:

• • Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) on support for U.S. international assistance: “Economic security is national security, and America’s interests must be at the forefront of our foreign policy to restore U.S. global leadership… I'm going to continue to speak out on why it is so important so that we can be targeted, measured, and effective in our foreign assistance programs.”
    
    
  • White House’s Brian Cavanaugh on U.S. global economic engagement: “We're in a position where we can start doing the… foreign assistance lift… Economic security is where we can start having meaningful conversations with not just countries, but industry around the world on how we want to approach what an economic offensive posture looks like.”
    
    
  • Former SOUTHCOM Commander General Laura Richardson (USA, Ret.) on getting America’s team on the field: "We've got to have our jersey on from Team USA… If we can get our strategies aligned – national security and economic – with the embassies and our ground game, it just makes America safer, makes us stronger, makes us more prosperous, but also our allies and partners more prosperous as well.”
    
    
  • Former NSA Chief General Keith B. Alexander (USA, Ret.) on private sector collaboration: “As we go forward in the future contest, it can’t be just the military. What are the other elements of national power?… We can't just say we're going to go build an economy. We have to have a plan between the public and private sector.”
    
    
  • U.S. Chamber’s John Murphy on U.S. economic statecraft: “I think economic statecraft to be successful takes at least two ingredients, and one is working closely with the business community... but also working with our friends and allies and partners around the world.”
    
    
  • Amazon’s Arrow Augerot on U.S. technology leadership: “American-led digital innovation, including the development and use of artificial intelligence, is a core and critical extension of U.S. economic and national security.”
    
    
  • USGLC’s Chris Clement on economic security: “America’s economic security and national security are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. America needs an economic security playbook that is integrated with U.S. national security goals.”

» Be on the lookout for USGLC’s latest Economic Security report under separate cover.

How America Wins in the World: Tackling the stakes for U.S. international assistance, the Forum convened top foreign policy, national security, and humanitarian leaders:

• • The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin on the need for strategic engagement: “Instability abroad will reduce our security at home… We need hard power and soft power, but there's very little we can do with neither.”
    
    
  • Ambassador Mark Green on the imperative for U.S. global leadership: “What we know for sure is that the world doesn’t get better if America steps back. Of that, we are very, very sure Republicans and Democrats alike believe in that vision… That’s what really matters, is America engaged in the world or are we going to step back and let the world happen to us? That’s the choice.”
    
    
  • Catholic Relief Services’ Sean Callahan on PEPFAR: “When PEPFAR came into place, it was a revolutionary new program… We have saved over 25 million lives with PEPFAR. With the Global Fund, we're providing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria responses in all the countries throughout the world.”

» See our coverage on X and Instagram.

TOP-ED. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates emphasized the importance of utilizing and modernizing our international assistance and diplomatic toolkit to rise to today’s global threats and competition with China. Top quotes:

• On China: “Diplomacy and an American presence on the ground matters in competing with China, especially in the Global South. Not only is it a mistake to close embassies there; we should make sure we have confirmed ambassadors.”
  
  
• On resources: “Without providing the necessary money, restructuring all these instruments of power and better integrating them into U.S. national security-policy will be pointless.”
  
  
• On democracy programs: “America First must not mean abandoning American values promoted by our government and by organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute. To neglect our values as part of our foreign policy would make us just another transactional great power without the unique appeal we have enjoyed for nearly 250 years.”

GAVI LATEST. At the Gavi pledging summit in Brussels, POLITICO reports that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., just delivered video remarks stating that the U.S. won’t contribute anymore to the vaccine alliance. Expect this to be a key issue on Capitol Hill given the bipartisan support for Gavi’s work to vaccinate millions of children around the world with every $1 invested yielding $54 in economic benefits.

STEPPING BACK ON THE SDGs. Ahead of an upcoming development finance summit, Devex is reporting that the United States has further withdrawn from its commitments on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and would not be participating in the upcoming summit in Spain.

BUDGET UPDATE. Looking toward the FY26 budget, the Administration’s detailed proposal to Congress – accompanied by proposed rescissions – calls for an 85% reduction of America’s footprint in the world.

• By the numbers:
  • The request proposes $9.4 billion for the State Department and U.S. international affairs agencies and programs – $51.7 billion below the FY25 enacted level of $61.1 billion plus a rescission package of nearly $22 billion in funds Congress had previously appropriated.
• If enacted:
  • The result would bring funding levels to the lowest levels since before the end of World War II – more than 80 years ago – in real terms.
  • Nearly every aspect of U.S. international assistance – global health, food security, and humanitarian aid would be severely impacted.

» Read USGLC’s top takeaways on the Administration’s proposal here.

CONGRESS SPEAKS OUT. Republican and Democratic Members of Congress spoke out about the importance of U.S. international assistance programs and questioned the Administration’s proposed cuts during budget hearings with Secretary of State Rubio:

• Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) on global health: “U.S. international assistance plays a key role in helping us to respond to humanitarian crises, fight the spread of deadly diseases like Ebola and project soft power. And that's why I'm concerned that the President's budget request proposes a cut of 62% below the enacted level of 2025 for global health programs.”
  
  
• Senate State-Foreign Operations Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on promoting stability: “Why do we have PEPFAR? Not only is it the right thing to do, I think it’s just smart foreign policy… If we eliminate some of these programs that create stability over there, the chaos will surely come here.”
  
  
• Senate State-Foreign Operations Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-HI) on reform: “Making reforms to be smarter and more strategic with our investments while also preserving the things that are already working – PEPFAR, FMF, life-saving aid, disaster response – is still possible.”
  
  
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on PEPFAR: “Failure to continue PEPFAR would be ceding that leadership to adversaries like China.”
  
  
• Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) on MCC and DFC: “It’s my hope that we’ll work together to actually make a more effective, focused, and sustainable foreign aid component... Sustaining organizations that we helped build together like the MCC, the DFC, and the Global Fragility Act.”

FAITH COMMUNITY RALLIES FOR PEPFAR. Last week, Christian music artist Amy Grant headlined a concert outside of Nashville, Tennessee to support America’s global HIV/AIDS program. Grant left a voicemail with lawmakers from the stage, saying, “Here in Nashville we want to see full funding of PEPFAR, so we can stay on track to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.”

FROM KANSAS TO KENYA. Check out the inspiring photo story of USGLC Farmers for Prosperity member, Doug Keesling, who traveled with a delegation of American farmers to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya to see the direct impact of U.S. international assistance on the ground. “When you give food, you give hope,” says Keesling.