Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL) called for Congress to adopt the Two-Penny Pledge, A4AL’s proposal to increase spending on development and diplomacy to two percent of the federal budget. Ramirez officially endorsed the Pledge at the Alliance for American Leadership’s USAID Flag Day reception, where she discussed the importance of diplomacy and international development for our safety and security at home and around the globe. Watch a video of Ramirez’ speech here.

The Illinois Democrat made the case for relying on our shared humanity rather than the threat violence is the key to a safer and more prosperous world, and that Americans want to see a more peaceful, less expensive, and ultimately more effective global policy. Around the country, she said, voters from across diverse backgrounds are “voting for the kind of leaders that are going to prioritize humanity, dignity and justice over conquest, imperialism and corruption and corporations.”

Ramirez attributed her centering of humanity to her mother’s immigrant story. Ramirez’ mother walked from her home in a small village in Guatemala to the United States while pregnant in order to give her daughter a better life. 

“Here I am, because I understand what my mother taught me,” Ramirez said. “She taught me to recognize our shared humanity, to see the connection between my familia in Guatemala, my tias in Humboldt Park, my cousins who are still in Atlanta and other parts, and the struggle of women, whether it's Ukraine, Congo, Palestine or Lebanon.”

“This wisdom led me to understand that my peace, that my safety, and that my well-being is interconnected with your well-being, with your safety, and the well-being of others around the globe,” Ramirez said. “True safety is not brought into our lives at the end of the barrel of a gun, by a bomb, or via a chokehold of suppression and oppression."

She then pointed out the vast financial disparity between choosing to spend huge sums of money on war and violence over development at home and abroad. The Pentagon’s proposed budget would raise the military’s annual budget to $1.5 trillion amid both an ongoing war with Iran and an affordability crisis at home. Ramirez asked what that money could do if it were used for healthcare housing, education, or diplomacy. “What kind of world would we be if in fact we were prioritizing humanity over war?,” she asked.

Ramirez argued that rather than overspending on American security, the United States could get better results for less money by investing in diplomacy and development. “For me it's really important…that we understand that our security as a homeland, is interconnected with the security and stability of the globe, and that we cannot guarantee the safety of Americans through this peace through strength model where we don’t understand the power of soft power, when we actually invest in diplomacy and actual international development,” she said.

USAID was the vehicle for those efforts. Bolstering American security by preventing the emergence of threats ahead of time, and saving and improving lives at the same time, all for a fraction of the $1.5 trillion our current security policy apparently requires.

Ramirez spoke about visiting a USAID office while on a congressional visit to Guatemala, witnessing firsthand the life-changing impact that less than one percent of the federal budget once had, and called on Congress to adopt the Two-Penny Pledge, A4AL’s proposal to increase spending on development and diplomacy to two percent of the budget. “the stories that I heard, mostly from indigenous women about how USAID has literally saved lives, given opportunity for children who otherwise would die in poverty, reminds me how incredibly important it is for congress to spend the money that's already been appropriated and to insure that the Two-Penny Pledge is in fact a reality in the United States Congress.”

Speaking about Congress's current work on the National Defense Authorization Act, Ramirez identified this legislative fight as an opportunity to redirect resources toward development and diplomacy, pointing to her six proposed amendments on the issue.

“We must reject policies that rob us of dignity, safety and security around the world,” she said. “And we must ask ourselves, and you must ask members of Congress, what kind of country do we want to be?”

 “I am clear about the world that I want to be a part of. I am clear about the world that young people want to live in! We are very clear about the kind of world that we are building together, where diplomacy and international development are the center of our homeland security.”