Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates delivered a strong rebuke to the U.S. Senate on Monday, warning against proposed cuts to foreign aid that he says would cripple nearly every effective lifesaving health program supported by the United States.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Gates expressed alarm over a Senate rescission bill under consideration that would eliminate more than $8 billion in foreign aid, including nearly $1 billion dedicated to global health initiatives. This would come on top of billions in aid that have already been slashed.
“I’m alarmed at how a bid to eliminate inefficiencies in the U.S. budget—an important task—has put us on the verge of cutting funds for almost every single effective lifesaving aid program and, with it, our country’s proud history of helping others less fortunate than ourselves,” Gates wrote.
Urging Senate Republicans to reconsider, Gates emphasized that lawmakers must first understand what this funding supports—and what benefits the U.S. reaps from it—before making sweeping cuts. “Understand what this spending is—and what it is not,” he implored.
In his argument, Gates outlined three key points that he believes have been lost in the current budget debate. First, he debunked the misconception that foreign aid funds are distributed with little oversight. “That simply isn’t true,” Gates said. “I know this because I read the audit reports produced by many global health programs that the American foreign aid budget funds.”
Second, Gates pointed out the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs. He cited the success of initiatives like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), which have collectively saved approximately 37 million lives over the past two decades. Despite their impact, he noted, all U.S. global health aid made up less than 0.1% of the federal budget as of January.
Third, Gates argued that global health funding directly supports U.S. national interests. “Global health is also an effective national-security policy,” he wrote. “It promotes peace and stability in potentially dangerous regions, protects us from pandemic disease, and generates economic growth that benefits the whole world, including us.”
Gates concluded with a direct appeal to lawmakers and citizens alike: “All Americans should be proud of the people they have helped by funding global health programs, and senators should vote to keep these programs, not cut them.” The Senate is expected to review the proposed rescission bill in the coming weeks.