How to Contact Your Representative About USAID & Foreign Aid Cuts

The Issue

What's at Stake

USAID — the U.S. Agency for International Development — has been effectively dismantled through executive action in 2025-2026, with most of its staff fired and its programs frozen or terminated. The agency's elimination has ended food aid, disease prevention, democracy support, and humanitarian assistance programs that reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide and directly served U.S. strategic interests.

Congress has the power to fund and direct foreign assistance programs through the appropriations process. Constituent pressure on representatives determines whether Congress acts to restore, restructure, or permanently eliminate these programs.

$40B+

In annual USAID and foreign assistance funding cut or frozen

160+

Countries where USAID programs operated

1M+

Children's lives that USAID programs were projected to save annually

Take Action

How to Contact Your Representative — Step by Step

Find your representatives

Enter your ZIP code in RepReach to see your House rep and both Senators with direct phone numbers. Foreign assistance is funded through congressional appropriations both chambers vote on.

Call about congressional oversight

Congress has the power of the purse on foreign aid. Constituent calls urging oversight hearings, funding restoration, or accountability measures are concrete asks that congressional offices can act on.

Connect it to U.S. interests if relevant

USAID programs support disease prevention that protects Americans from global health threats, counter extremism, and advance U.S. strategic interests. Framing foreign aid in terms of national interest can be effective with offices that are skeptical of humanitarian arguments.

Follow up in writing

RepReach generates a personalized written message based on your position. Written contacts on foreign policy issues carry particular weight with members who sit on foreign affairs committees.

What to Say

Tips for Your Call or Email

📍

Start with your city. Foreign aid connects to local interests — faith communities, international businesses, universities with global partnerships, and veterans all have stakes in U.S. foreign assistance.

🎯

Ask for a specific action. 'I urge you to support restoring USAID funding' or 'I want Congress to hold hearings on the dismantling of USAID' are actionable asks.

🌍

Connect to shared values. American leadership, disease prevention, famine relief, and supporting democracy abroad resonate across political lines.

⏱️

Under 60 seconds is enough. A clear, brief call is easier to log and just as effective as a longer one.

RepReach writes your script for you

Tell the app where you stand and add any personal details — RepReach builds a complete, personalized call or email script around your story. No blank page, no guessing what to say.

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Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Congress restore USAID?

Yes. Congress controls foreign assistance funding through the appropriations process and can pass legislation requiring the restoration of USAID programs, establishing new structures for foreign assistance, or restricting executive authority to unilaterally eliminate congressionally-funded programs.

Why does USAID matter to Americans?

USAID programs advance U.S. strategic interests by countering extremism, building stable trading partners, preventing disease outbreaks that could spread globally, and supporting democratic governments. They also represent American humanitarian values that have historically enjoyed bipartisan support.

Does calling about USAID make a difference?

Yes. Foreign aid is an area where constituent calls can have outsized impact because the default assumption in many congressional offices is that constituents don't care. Calls that demonstrate public interest directly challenge that assumption.

How do I find my representative's phone number?

Enter your ZIP code in the RepReach app to instantly find your House representative and both U.S. Senators with their direct district office phone numbers.

Act in 60 Seconds

RepReach finds your representatives by ZIP code and builds a personalized script around your story — so you're never staring at a blank page.

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