Ed Royce says lawmakers will dig into Trump’s proposed State Dept. cuts

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said Wednesday that the committee will next week begin digging into the sweeping State Department and USAID funding cuts proposed by President Trump’s 2018 budget blueprint.

The California Republican said in a statement that lawmakers “must ensure our foreign aid is effective, efficient and adequately funded” to address a host of “grave threats” facing the United States — including that posed by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS and ISIL.

“From fighting ISIS to feeding the starving, diplomacy and foreign assistance plays a critical role in advancing U.S. values and national security,” he said, adding that the Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday, March 28th at 10 a.m.

Several former diplomats and foreign policy analysts will testify, including R. Nicholas Burns, who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs during the George W. Bush administration.

Wednesday’s comments from Mr. Royce, meanwhile, come against a backdrop of hand wringing in U.S. diplomatic circles over President Trump’s proposal for a 28 percent slash to America’s diplomatic programs.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has defended the proposed cuts and some conservative hard-liners say it’s about time for the State Department to rein in spending on items such as climate change and gay rights.

But many Republicans, including several highly influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill, have pushed back, arguing that robust U.S. diplomacy and aid programs will be essential to ensuring the sustainability of any military victories against ISIS in Iraq. Syria and elsewhere.

Mr. Royce said last week that he is “very concerned that deep cuts to our diplomacy will hurt efforts to combat terrorism [and] distribute critical humanitarian aid … especially when the U.S. is fighting ISIS and millions are at risk of starvation around the world.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has argued that the proposed Trump budget would be damaging America’s to so-called “soft power” projection, particularly on the periphery of the war against the Islamic State.

“When you take soft power off the table, you’re never going to win the war,” Mr. Graham told NBC News last month. “It shows a lack of understanding of what it takes to win.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican, expressed optimism last week that lawmakers will be able to “strike an appropriate balance” with the administration that “recognizes the critical role of diplomacy.”