U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has issued a statement regarding the Biden Administration’s decision to bypass his hold on funding for the Haiti Multinational Security Support Mission (Haiti MSS).
“The Biden Administration’s choice to override the hold I had placed on U.S. taxpayer funding for the ill-conceived Haiti MSS is extremely disappointing,” said Risch. “I have very clearly expressed my serious and specific concerns about this mission since last September. My concerns exist in part because of the long history of failed international interventions in Haiti which have wasted billions of dollars and left the Haitian people worse off.”
Risch noted his attempts to engage with the administration in order to improve planning processes and establish clear rules of engagement and success metrics. He stated, “Unfortunately, the administration made it very clear it could not provide any substantive metrics or goals. Despite this fact, it has decided to move forward with funding a mission where the length, objectives, and cost remain unclear. Right now, the U.S. taxpayer will shoulder the overwhelming majority of this burden.”
The senator also referenced a previous instance where he had placed a hold that was overridden by the administration: “This is now the second time the Biden Administration has taken the extreme move to override a hold I have placed as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The first instance was my hold on money for UNRWA – an anti-Semitic corrupt organization that harbors terrorists who just months later helped perpetrate horrific attacks on innocent Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.”
Risch concluded his statement with a note of caution: “I sincerely hope I don’t have to say I told you so again.”
