PIERRE — A group of nearly four dozen state legislators in South Dakota have signed on to a letter asking for the work of U.S. Sen. John Thune to cut foreign aid spending in a step to address the ever-rising federal debt.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Nov. 19, a group of 34 current and future state representatives plus 11 current and future state senators plead with Thune to use his influence as the newly elected Senate majority leader to cut foreign aid.
The letter, penned by state Rep. Aaron Aylward, R-Harrisburg, points to the more than $36 trillion in debt the federal government has amassed.
“As the federal debt doomsday clock approaches midnight, having surpassed $36 trillion and growing, we the undersigned write to request a drastic reduction in financial support for foreign countries until America gets her own fiscal house in order,” the letter reads.
The federal debt has seen sharp increases annually since roughly the turn of the century. In 2000, the federal government owed just $5.67 trillion, compared to $13.56 trillion a decade later and $26.95 trillion in 2020.
Interest on that debt alone is expected to top $892 billion in 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office, a jump of more than 36% from interest incurred in 2023.
“Our national debt now equals the staggering sum of over $272,000 per taxpayer, and the current debt-to-GDP ratio is over 120%,” the letter continues. “History shows that nations in such arrears eventually find themselves diminished on the world stage, forced to devalue their currency, and suffering from hyperinflation, crime and despair.”
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States has sent about $175 billion in foreign aid packages to Ukraine, roughly $106 billion of which has directly benefited the Ukrainian government (the remainder went to non-governmental organizations). Roughly 40% of the $175 billion figure was weapons and military support, while the rest aided the country’s budget and humanitarian support.
In the Middle East, the United States has given Israel roughly $18 billion in direct military aid since its war with Hamas broke out in October 2023. Roughly 78% of Israel’s arms imports since 2000 have come from the United States.
The letter to Thune specifically calls out U.S. spending on “forever wars,” but also notes overspending on general humanitarian aid and “nation-building” initiatives.
“For decades, Washington, D.C. budget negotiations have reached consensus only when all agree to continue overextending our commitments overseas to promote nation-building and forever wars, while also fully-funding ever-expanding domestic entitlement programs,” the letter reads. “As a result, we now find ourselves in a very grim financial and moral situation. Eventually we will have to pay the piper.”
Ultimately, the 45 state legislators want Thune to push the Senate to reject future requests for foreign aid, decline to send American troops abroad without a declaration of war and reset their sights on lowering the United States’ national debt.
“Unfortunately, too many members of Congress find it easier to support sending more resources overseas to help catch the next boogeyman, than to tackle the most glaring policy choice of all: The crushing national debt,” the letter reads. “We simply cannot afford to continue our current levels of foreign aid spending. Future funding requests need to be declined, and those who wish to send our sons and daughters into harm’s way overseas need to do so only after a Congressional declaration of war.”
In an email, Aylward said that the letter received signatures from 45 of the 55 South Dakota lawmakers who were asked to join. He clarified that time was a factor as “tensions are rising on the other side of the world.”
A similar letter was sent to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, as well as U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, both of whom are Republicans from South Dakota. Copies of those letters were not shared with Sioux Falls Live.
Though the U.S. Senate is in session, Thune’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it’s unclear whether Thune has received the letter yet. Thune is likely to return to South Dakota during the Senate’s state work period Nov. 25-29.
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