WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In its pending 2017 budget, the United States is likely to cut 30 percent of funding to international disaster relief and nine percent of the budget for migration and refugee assistance.
"It would be quite nearly impossible for us to meet immediate needs," Clements said when asked about the impact of proposed US budget cuts to foreign assistance.
Clements explained that the UN Refugee Agency is already facing funding problems.
"We were about half-funded last year."
The United States is already providing $1.3 billion, or one-third of the agency’s funding, to the refugee agency but the UNHCR estimates that $7 billion in requirements is pending for 2016.
In 2015, there were more than 14 million refugees worldwide, marking the largest international refugee crisis since the end of World War II.
