The government is shut down this week, but the rest of the world doesn’t pause or de-escalate for the sake of Capitol Hill. Last month, Russia fired more than 1,500 strike drones, 1,280 glide bombs, and 50 missiles at Ukraine, and NATO-member warplanes shot down several Russian drones over Poland — the first time the alliance has engaged Russian drones over NATO territory. This isn’t even to mention Beijing’s increased aggression against our friends and allies in the South China Sea.
So, how can Congress play a meaningful role in strengthening America, supporting our allies, and deterring our enemies? Right now, our former colleagues in Congress face two urgent, often overlooked decisions: passing a bipartisan State Department authorization bill and reauthorizing the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. Both are essential if America is to maintain global leadership in an era of intense geopolitical competition.
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The State Department authorization bill is not just bureaucratic housekeeping. It sets the policy framework and congressional oversight that guide how the U.S. engages with the world — through diplomacy, development, and strategic influence. These are the very tools that allow us to open markets, stabilize fragile regions, and counter the authoritarian models pushed by China and Russia.
This form of strategic assistance and global engagement is among the most cost-effective and practical deterrents we have. They allow us to shape the world in ways that reduce the likelihood of conflict, promote free markets, and advance American values — all without deploying American troops and risking American lives.
The Trump administration is undertaking a much-needed realignment of U.S. foreign assistance to match assistance programs more concretely with U.S. foreign policy priorities. But the core of America’s international development strategy — initiatives such as PEPFAR, the President’s Malaria Initiative, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and other targeted health, humanitarian, and economic growth programs — remains essential. These programs don’t just build schools or clinics; they build goodwill, align global leaders with U.S. values, and create future partners instead of future problems.
And if the U.S. retreats from these arenas, China, Russia, and others are standing by to fill the vacuum. We already see this in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, where Beijing is using its Belt and Road Initiative to export a model of centralized control and debt dependency. These efforts are backed not just by infrastructure loans, but by regulatory and technological influence that embed long-term strategic dependence on China.
This brings us to the DFC. Established by Congress in 2018 with overwhelming bipartisan support, the DFC was designed to help developing countries move from aid to trade — financing private-sector-led growth that aligns with U.S. standards, values, and interests. It’s our most effective counterweight to China’s economic coercion, and yet its congressional mandate is set to expire this month.
Congress must reauthorize the DFC and give it the tools to succeed. That means raising its lending cap to match global demand, expanding eligibility to include strategic upper-income countries, and strengthening tools such as political risk insurance and equity investments. These reforms would allow the DFC to mobilize tens of billions in private investment; that’s non-taxpayer money working to help America’s partners grow their economies while reducing reliance on authoritarian regimes.
These investments notably strengthen American business as well. U.S. companies benefit from more open and stable markets, clearer regulatory environments, and partners that share our commitment to transparency and rule of law. When the DFC supports a fiber-optic network in Africa or a power plant in the Indo-Pacific, it’s not just helping that region; it’s expanding America’s strategic and commercial reach.
This is how we win the long game.
Effective foreign assistance should never be seen as charity. It’s a down payment on American security, prosperity, and leadership. It empowers our allies, contains our adversaries, and reinforces a world order where rules, not coercion, govern international relations.
But this only works if it’s done on a bipartisan basis. Congress now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize our global engagement in a way that builds self-reliance, promotes American values, and deters adversaries.
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America is at its strongest when we lead — not just with military might, but with the full arsenal of diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian tools. We are safer when we are present. We are more prosperous when we help others stand on their own. And we are more secure when other countries prefer to work with us — not because they have to, but because they want to.
In today’s competitive global environment, retreat is not an option. We hope our former colleagues recognize this opportunity and waste no time in seizing it.
Ed Royce is a former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ted Yoho represented Florida’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2021.