A group of House Republicans want to add a rule that U.S. foreign aid must show the American flag. This would bring back a policy from the time of Trump which Biden had canceled.
The GOP members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including Reps. Brian Mast (Fla.), Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.) and Jim Baird (Ind.), are leading the amendment.
The proposed change is to a law from 2019 called the USAID Branding Modernization Act. This law aimed to encourage the use of American flags on foreign assistance, but it also let the USAID director choose the logo.
The amendment aims to add a requirement for the USAID director to use the American flag to “properly identify … overseas programs administered by USAID.”
The amendment keeps a part that allows the USAID director to decide if showing certain images of the United States abroad would be a safety or security issue for partners and beneficiaries.
USAID’s current logo is the agency’s name with the tagline, “From the American people,” underneath. There's also a smaller logo with clasping hands and American flag bunting on the right.
The GOP amendment is similar to Trump's efforts to make logos for U.S. foreign assistance the same. Trump reportedly liked the idea of using an American flag as the only logo. In December 2020, he made an order that gave him the power to choose a logo for all agencies giving U.S. aid. Biden canceled this order in May 2021. Mast explained to The Hill, “President Trump understood better than anyone how important the American Flag is as a symbol of freedom around the globe. It’s one of our best tools for building good will abroad. President Trump’s efforts to put America First serve as an inspiration for a strong majority of Republicans in Congress, including myself.”
Mast said the timing of the introduction of the amendment is related to the recently passed foreign aid package that spurred months of controversy in the House. While the House passed four individual bills, a vote on aid for Ukraine divided Republicans, with the majority of the House GOP opposing assistance for Kyiv.
The amendment would only need the American flag to be used on aid from USAID, which mainly focuses on civilian assistance and economic development.
USAID was already required to show that its aid is from the American people, as per a law from 1961.
Pew research polling showed that attitudes towards the U.S. got better when foreign countries knew that America was providing aid.
Rep. Salazar said, “The American flag is a symbol of freedom for millions of people around the world. We should proudly display the stars and stripes whenever possible.”
A team of House Republicans is proposing a change to make U.S. foreign aid show the American flag. This would bring back a policy from the time when Trump was president, which was cancelled by President Biden. The proposal is being led by GOP members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: Reps. Brian Mast (Fla.), Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.), Mike Lawler…
And Pew research polling has found positive attitudes about the U.S. have increased when foreign countries recognize that America is providing assistance.
“The American flag is a symbol of freedom for millions of people around the world,” Rep. Salazar said in a statement to The Hill. “We should display the stars and stripes proudly at every possible opportunity.”
