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Trump Administration Orders Freeze on Congressionally-Approved Foreign Aid

VOA News

   U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has ordered two federal
   agencies to freeze billions of dollars' worth of congressionally
   approved funding for foreign aid, pending the agencies' review.
   The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered the State Department
   and the U.S. Agency for International Development to account for
   "unobligated resources" of foreign aid and to stop spending funds that
   have not yet been officially designated for certain purposes.
   OMB identified 10 areas to be subjected to the freeze, including
   international health, narcotics and peacekeeping initiatives, and
   development assistance.
   Expiration near

   Critics of the order, which was delivered in a letter to the agencies
   last weekend, estimate the move will prevent the agencies from
   distributing $2 billion to $4 billion in aid.
   The funds under scrutiny cover fiscal 2018 and 2019 and would otherwise
   expire if not spent by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
   Last weekend's order came at the beginning of an extended congressional
   recess that ends Sept. 9, a time when lawmakers would have more
   difficulty blocking such a move.

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