Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / BREAKING NEWS Marjorie Taylor Greene Leads DOGE Committee Hearing On USAID

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BREAKING NEWS Marjorie Taylor Greene Leads DOGE Committee Hearing On USAID · Elon Musk Podcast

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1:00
for the show. Hearing of the Subcommittee on
1:02
Delivering on Government Efficiency will come to order.
1:05
Welcome everyone. Without objection, the Chair may
1:09
declare a recess at any time. I recognize myself for the
1:13
purpose of making an opening statement.
1:17
Good morning. I want to welcome everyone today
1:20
to today's Dodge Subcommittee hearing on US foreign aid.
1:25
This hearing comes at an important time, a time where all
1:28
of us are witnessing billions of dollars in taxpayer waste, fraud
1:33
and abuse being exposed across every agency of our federal
1:37
government. It comes at a time where
1:40
oversight of US foreign aid has uncovered billions of dollars
1:44
that have been weaponized in furtherance of globalist far
1:48
left ideologies. The American people want change.
1:53
The American people voted for change.
1:55
The American people have spoken that they no longer wish to be
1:59
enslaved by the bureaucracy's agenda of undermining US
2:03
interest abroad. In 2023 alone, Americans
2:08
privately donated over 557 billion of their own money.
2:15
Corporations donated over 37 billion.
2:18
Foundations donated over 103 billion.
2:22
That is incredible, incredible of the American people.
2:27
In 2023, nearly 76,000,000 Americans, almost 30% of
2:33
Americans formally volunteered through in an organization
2:37
volunteered. The government did not make them
2:41
do that. They did this on their own.
2:44
Donated and volunteering time is what supports schools and
2:47
shelters, hospitals and hotlines, food banks and more
2:52
across only our country. Not only our country, but across
2:56
the world. Ask anyone in Western North
2:59
Carolina, whether it be individuals, churches, or
3:02
businesses. The American people are the most
3:04
generous people in the entire world, and I'm so proud of that.
3:09
They should be the ones who decide where their money goes.
3:13
They can choose if they want to donate to a charity, a school, a
3:17
church, or a nonprofit. They can choose if they want to
3:20
privately donate to a transgender salon in Mumbai.
3:24
They can choose if they want to privately donate to the British
3:28
Broadcasting Corporation. They can choose if they want to
3:32
privately donate to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through
3:37
Eco Health Alliance or to electric vehicles in Vietnam or
3:41
to changing the national census in Bangladesh to be more gender
3:46
inclusive. That is something they should be
3:48
able to choose. That is something they should
3:51
never be forced to do by our government.
3:54
The Democrat run USAID should not get to use our federal
3:59
government, our US taxpayer dollars as their party Piggy
4:03
Bank to push the radical agenda in countries that we have no
4:07
business giving money to. 96% of all political contributions from
4:14
USAID employees go to Democrat Party candidates or packs.
4:19
That's 96%. Not only is USAID giving $70,000
4:24
for ADEI musical in Ireland or 50,000 for Transgender Opera in
4:30
Colombia or entrenched to entrench their left wing
4:34
ideology across the globe, USAID has been transformed into an
4:39
America last foreign Aid Slush fund to prop up extremist
4:43
groups, implement censorship campaigns and interfere in
4:47
foreign elections to force regime change around the world.
4:52
That is the dark truth about USAID.
4:56
That is the story the American people deserve to know.
4:59
Not only was USAID never designed to be what it has
5:03
morphed into, but these things should never have been funded in
5:08
the first place. In fiscal year 2023, USAID
5:13
dispersed roughly 44 billion of aid across 160 countries and
5:19
regions around the world. During the four years of the
5:23
Biden administration, 181 countries received approximately
5:28
240 billion in US development aid, with Ukraine being the top
5:33
recipient. Other top recipients include
5:36
Ethiopia, Jordan, Israel and Somalia.
5:40
So after hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been
5:43
distributed throughout the world, has the world become
5:46
safer? No.
5:48
Has the world become more stable?
5:51
No. Is the perception of the United
5:54
States around the globe any better?
5:56
No. But have some of the most anti
5:59
democratic principles like censorship and the canceling of
6:03
elections been funded through USAID because of opposition to
6:08
the ruling regimes? Yes.
6:11
Has money through USAID been funneled to terrorists?
6:17
Yes, foreign aid from USAID to the UN, particularly the UN
6:24
Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near
6:29
East, is directly funding Hamas terrorists.
6:33
Humanitarian relief intended for the Afghan people was diverted
6:37
to the Taliban. Money intended to support
6:41
democracy is being used as a slush fund for liberal
6:44
propaganda supporting terrorist gender ideology, diversity,
6:49
equity and inclusion, climate activism, censorship and regime
6:54
change. Do you think this is what the
6:56
American people think of when they think of foreign aid?
7:01
Absolutely not. Taxpayer funds have literally
7:05
been used to undermine US interests and counter American
7:09
foreign policy goals under the guise of foreign aid.
7:13
This is unacceptable and the American people agree.
7:17
Thankfully, President Trump is taking action to address these
7:20
issues. The election of President Trump
7:22
was a clear mandate by the American people that they will
7:26
no longer tolerate this. He is putting an end to the
7:30
foreign aid slush fund, ensuring the hard working American
7:34
taxpayers dollars are. Some are supporting America
7:37
First policies and taking care of our own people at home and we
7:43
will do the same with that. I now recognize Ranking Member
7:48
Stansbury for the purpose of making an opening statement.
7:52
All right. Well, good morning, everyone,
7:54
and welcome to the Elon Musk Chainsaw Massacre, except for
7:59
this remake of a classic is terrible because it's hurting
8:04
real people and its lead character, Mr. Musk, hasn't
8:08
shown up in front of this committee or Congress at all.
8:11
We also, of course, call this the Subcommittee on DOGE or
8:14
Project 2025, as we'll see here during the Q&A.
8:19
So today and this hearing on foreign aid, which the GOP has
8:23
called, you're going to hear all kinds of wild conspiracy
8:26
theories, accusations and unfounded data.
8:30
It's designed to confuse and provide cover for Donald Trump
8:34
and Elon Musk in their reckless gutting of our foreign aid and
8:39
our reordering under the Trump administration of international
8:43
Affairs. But if but before we dive into
8:46
the details, I want to zoom out and provide some critical
8:50
context text here about why this is happening.
8:54
So first of all, let's talk about what happened over the
8:58
last two weeks as the administration took an abrupt
9:02
about face in international relations after 64 years of
9:07
USAID and supporting our allies in Europe, turning its back on
9:12
long standing allies and now suddenly embracing and enabling
9:16
US foreign adversaries. Let's do a little oversight
9:20
here. Last week, the administration
9:22
shocked the world as the vice president took to the global
9:27
stage and address European leaders and inform them that the
9:30
Trump administration believes that the greatest threat to
9:33
Europe is not the autocratic leader who invaded our Western
9:37
ally three years ago and committed war crimes and
9:41
atrocities against the Ukrainian people and threaten Western
9:44
democracy. But instead, the VP said it was,
9:48
quote, a threat from within. He then snubbed our German
9:53
allies and in a unprecedented move, tacitly endorsed and then
9:58
met with a far right candidate from the German parliament who
10:03
Elon Musk has spent months backing.
10:06
This is a party that is so extreme that even conservatives
10:10
in Germany will not form a government with them.
10:14
Then over the weekend, Donald Trump went on a wild rant on
10:18
social media, embracing Vladimir Vladimir Putin and repeating
10:23
Russian propaganda trying to rewrite history and falsely
10:25
claimed that Ukraine started a war against its own people.
10:29
Then on Monday, Trump had the United States of America vote
10:34
against Russia vote, vote with Russia, North Korea, and China
10:40
as four of the only eight countries in the world voting in
10:45
the UN against a resolution supporting Ukraine and affirming
10:49
Ukraine's sovereignty. When you think about what this
10:53
means in the context of American history, it's truly astonishing.
10:58
That same day, which was only two days ago, the administration
11:02
announced that they would proceed with firing another 2000
11:07
USAID workers, even as a court ruled that the administration's
11:11
dismantling of the aid organization is illegal.
11:14
And interestingly, one of the main opponents of USAID programs
11:19
is Donald Trump's buddy Vladimir Putin.
11:22
Why? Because among the programs that
11:25
the US was funding before the funding was frozen was aid to
11:28
Ukraine, including safe houses on the front lines, a free and
11:32
open press to help keep people informed what was happening in
11:35
the war, not to mention refugee resettlement in the United
11:39
States. USAID was also engaged in
11:42
democracy building in Eastern Europe and the Balkans,
11:44
especially with the fall of the USSR.
11:48
Of course, Mr. Putin didn't like that either, and these
11:52
investments have been totally decimated over the last several
11:57
weeks. Over the last five years, USAID
12:00
has funded international aid to 212 countries around the world
12:05
to promote international peace and security to help maintain
12:09
stability and ensure that we are making good on America's
12:13
promises. These investments are a fraction
12:17
of the cost of weapons and defense.
12:20
And the US in the process is able to help promote national
12:24
security, stop global pandemics, prevent hunger and mass
12:28
migrations, and make the world and the United States a safer
12:33
place. So when we hear conservative
12:36
allies of Donald Trump repeat wild and unfounded claims about
12:41
international aid, and we see a coordinated attack by
12:45
conservative media think tanks like those who are here today,
12:48
members of Congress, the administration, we have to ask
12:52
ourselves what is really going on here, folks?
12:56
Why the hell are they so hell bent on dismantling an
13:00
organization that has been so vital to American interests and
13:05
Western democracy for so long? Over the last several days, they
13:10
have fired thousands of federal employees.
13:15
It really does make you wonder, doesn't it?
13:17
And by the way, while they've been doing that, China has
13:20
actually moved in already to places in South Asia that had
13:25
their funding cut and is beginning to replace American
13:29
diplomacy and aid in those places.
13:32
So as we listen to this hearing today and hear from our
13:35
witnesses, which I look forward to, I hope that we can get to
13:39
the bottom of what is actually going on here today.
13:42
And with that, I look forward to hearing the testimony.
13:47
January 24th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an order that
13:52
came with a waiver for emergency food assistance, which was
13:55
broadened even further several days later for life saving
13:58
services. Secretary Rubio has stated very
14:01
clearly we have a blanket waiver and anybody who tells you they
14:05
don't understand it, let me repeat it in very simple words.
14:09
If it saves lives, if it's emergency life saving aid, food,
14:14
medicine, whatever, they have a waiver.
14:17
I don't know how much clearer we can be.
14:19
And if we're not applying it, then maybe we're not a very good
14:23
organization and maybe they shouldn't be getting any money
14:26
at all. Additionally, in kind, food
14:28
assistance purchased from US farmers is continuing.
14:34
I'm pleased to introduce our witnesses today.
14:36
Max Primarac is a senior research fellow at the Heritage
14:40
Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
14:43
He has more than 30 years of international work experience,
14:47
including his acting chief operating officer at USAID and
14:52
as a USAID contractor. From 2018 to 2019, he was an
14:57
administration envoy to Iraq, overseeing a 400 million
15:02
genocide recovery initiative to facilitate returns of Christians
15:07
and other persecuted religious minorities.
15:10
Greg Roman is the executive director of Middle East Forum.
15:14
He is a frequent commentator about Middle East affairs on
15:18
both national and international news channels and studied
15:22
national security and political communications at America
15:26
American University and Interdisciplinary Center in
15:30
Hurts. Hurts.
15:32
Yeah, sorry. Tyler O'Neill is senior editor
15:35
at The Daily Signal and author of The Woktopus, the dark money
15:40
cabal manipulating the Federal Government.
15:43
He is a writer and commentator on federal policy, and it has
15:46
appeared on both local and national news outlets.
15:49
Finally, Noam Unger is the director of Sustainable
15:53
Development and Resilience Initiative at the Center for
15:56
Strategic International Studies and a senior fellow with the
16:00
Project on Prosperity and Development.
16:02
He has served at both USAID and the US Department of State.
16:07
Again, I want to thank all of you for being here to testify
16:11
today pursuant to Committee Rule 9.
16:14
G. The witnesses will please stand
16:17
and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm
16:25
that the testimony that you were about to give is the truth, the
16:28
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.
16:33
Let the record show that the witnesses answered in the
16:36
affirmative. Thank you.
16:37
You may take a seat. We appreciate you being here
16:42
today and look forward to your testimony.
16:45
Let me remind the witnesses that we will have read your written
16:48
statement and it will appear in full in the hearing record.
16:53
Please limit your oral statement to 5 minutes.
16:56
As a reminder, please press the button on the microphone in
17:00
front of you so that it is on and the members can hear you.
17:04
When you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn
17:07
green after 4 minutes. The light will turn yellow when
17:12
the red light comes on. Your 5 minutes have expired and
17:15
we would ask that you please wrap up.
17:18
I now recognize Max Premarack for his opening statement.
17:23
Madam Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to testify
17:26
before this very important subcommittee.
17:30
The views I expressed here today are my own.
17:33
Over the past few weeks, indeed, we have been treated to daily
17:36
litany of examples of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer
17:40
funded foreign aid. USAID and the State Department
17:44
used foreign aid as a global platform to push radical and
17:48
even obscene ideas that have shocked and angered the American
17:51
people. One cannot help but ask, was
17:55
there anyone in the room raising their hand to say this is not a
17:58
good idea? This might cost us our
18:01
bipartisan support in Congress. We might lose the trust of the
18:04
American people. Yes, foreign aid should be a
18:08
tool to advance our national security interests.
18:12
In the past it did. Today it does not.
18:15
Frankly, it has been doing harm while spending more on aid.
18:19
There is more world poverty and hunger today, more political
18:22
instability, and developing countries are more beholden to
18:26
our adversaries. At USAID, I Co chaired an inner
18:30
agency working group that put all aid projects through a
18:34
counter China lens that was dismantled.
18:38
Instead, the Biden administration wasted billions
18:42
of dollars on a global green agenda that forced poor
18:46
countries to rely on China for their energy needs.
18:50
These countries sought more trade with an investment from
18:55
the United States to bind our countries closer together.
18:59
Instead, they got transgender diversity and abortion programs
19:04
that have alienated billions of people.
19:06
Despite what we hear in the media, there is no linkage
19:10
between how we do aid and our national security.
19:14
South Africa has received billions of American aid
19:16
dollars, yet is China's main Africa partner.
19:20
South Africa is the S in brick bricks.
19:24
It supports Hamas and Iran and opposes us at every turn.
19:28
At the United Nations last summer, Mozambique and Tanzania,
19:33
other large aid recipients conducted 2 week military
19:37
exercises with the People's Liberation Army, expanding
19:41
Communist China's power projection to the lip of our
19:44
Atlantic Ocean. 19 of the top 20 USAID recipients are members of
19:51
China's Belt and Road Initiative.
19:54
While acting Chief Operating officer at USCID, I approved
19:58
strong vetting policies for our humanitarian assistance in
20:02
countries swarming with terrorists, but that too was
20:06
ignored by the Biden administration.
20:09
Vast sums of US money have been diverted to fund terrorists in
20:12
Gaza, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
20:16
NGOs have been hit with heavy fines for violating our anti
20:20
terrorism financing laws, but closer scrutiny is warranted,
20:25
for the problem is endemic in the aid culture.
20:29
Last year, USAID launched its $45 million Global Civil Society
20:34
program based on the social theories of an Italian Marxist.
20:39
Literally, we have been funding radical NGOs around the world
20:43
that oppose capitalism, democracy, NATO, and
20:47
Christianity. None of this is counter China.
20:50
This is counter America. Again, A resounding yes that
20:55
foreign aid can be a powerful tool of diplomacy to promote
20:58
freedom, prosperity and peace in accordance with our national
21:02
interest and our values, but not as an instrument of progressive
21:06
imperialism. Regardless of which party
21:10
controls the executive branch, aid officials must ensure that
21:14
every single foreign aid program can pass the Middle America
21:19
smell test on waste, fraud, and abuse.
21:23
Aid decisions must always secure bipartisan support.
21:27
There must be full transparency on who is being funded and what
21:31
they're doing, not only for the members of Congress, but
21:35
especially for the American people.
21:38
The fiduciary failure of our aid of aid officials over the past
21:42
four years has done tremendous damage to foreign AIDS
21:46
credibility and America's standing in the world.
21:50
Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
22:02
Thank you. I now recognize Greg Roman for
22:04
his opening statement. Madam Chairman, Ranking Member
22:07
and distinguished members of this committee, thank you for
22:10
the opportunity to speak today. My name is Greg Roman, director
22:13
of the Middle East Forum, and I'm here because there's a fox
22:15
loose in the hen House of our foreign aid system, a system
22:18
intended to uplift lives abroad that instead has funneled
22:22
millions of taxpayer dollars to radical and terrorist linked
22:24
organizations. If we don't fix these fences
22:27
now, we risk fueling violence against our allies, our troops,
22:30
and potentially ourselves. Let me be clear, This is a
22:34
problem that began under the Obama administration and was
22:37
exacerbated under the Biden administration.
22:40
It's a problem that has been brewing across both of these 12
22:44
years of governance by a bureaucracy so insulated it
22:47
can't always tell teachers from terrorists.
22:50
The result is moral confusion among grant officers who
22:53
unwittingly and in some cases may intentionally bankroll
22:57
extremist causes. At the Middle East Forum, for
23:00
the last 12 years, we've engaged in oversight over all public
23:03
spending relating to foreign aid, specifically those relating
23:06
to Middle East and Islamist causes.
23:08
We have identified over $122 million which has ended up
23:12
supporting radical organizations or even directly bankrolling
23:16
organizations which are considered to be terrorists by
23:18
the US government. That's not pocket change, that's
23:21
a jackpot for the wrong crowd. Terms of our specific findings,
23:28
World Vision. Over the past two decades, this
23:30
major evangelical NGO has received nearly $2 billion from
23:34
USAID. But in 2014, World Vision
23:37
facilitated $125,000 grant to the Islamic Relief Agency, an
23:43
entity linked to al Qaeda. Even after a whistleblower
23:47
raised red flags, USAID rammed through the funding, pressured
23:51
by World Vision, Sudanese War Words and even U.S. officials
23:55
who lobbied to delist the terror organization Helping Hand Relief
23:59
and Development in 2023. Only two years ago, it received
24:03
a $78,000 grant from USAID despite openly working with the
24:08
terrorists who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai massacre in India.
24:12
Worse, the offer and grant came after the USAID Inspector
24:16
General launched an investigation into a prior grant
24:19
to the same group, the Jamal Trust Bank in Lebanon.
24:24
USAID dollars helped pad the pockets of this financial
24:27
institution, later designated by the US Treasury Department as a
24:30
terror sponsor for sponsoring Hezbollah.
24:33
This was no mere oversight. It points to a broken system
24:36
that handed cash to a future terror financing entity.
24:41
Some graphical evidence. Behind me you'll see the Bayadar
24:44
and Unlimited Friends Association, two groups in Gaza.
24:48
Members of the Gazan charity by Adar cozy up the senior members
24:51
of the Hamas Poly Bureau like Abdul Salam Haniya, the son of
24:55
slaughtered Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, credited as one of the
24:58
planners of the October 7th attacks on Israel which kill
25:01
Israelis and American citizens. Meanwhile, UFA officials have
25:06
called for their lands to be cleansed from the so-called
25:08
quote impurity of the Jews. You'll see behind me 4 images
25:14
which don't just show members of Bayidar and UFA associating with
25:18
members of Hamas, but also USAID officials, employees of the US
25:23
government receiving awards because of their cooperation
25:26
with these two Hamas linked entities.
25:29
You even have a Facebook post from a few years ago, which is
25:32
the USAID office in Jerusalem, celebrating their relationship
25:36
with a Hamas entity. I can't find anything more
25:39
disgusting. And as the ranking member said,
25:41
we're looking for evidence. This is not a conspiracy.
25:44
This is AUS government communication.
25:47
Lastly, masking the money trail, billions of dollars in USAID
25:51
grants are lumped under miscellaneous foreign awardees,
25:54
making it impossible for Congress, the media, or the
25:57
public to track who's really getting the funds.
26:00
According to public testimony and another hearing in this
26:02
Congress, a portion of this money has ended up in the hands
26:05
of Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria. How does this happen?
26:09
The oversight conducted by USAID is as weak as the House of Cards
26:13
in the windstorm. Like handing out cash in a dark
26:15
alley and hoping it doesn't buy trouble.
26:18
USAI DS vetting system is archaic, relying heavily on self
26:21
reported data with no real time checks or teeth.
26:24
Primary grantees are entrusted to vet their own subcontractors,
26:29
even when those grantees themselves might sympathize with
26:31
radical causes in places like Gaza or Sudan.
26:35
Groups with blatant extremist affiliation slip through because
26:38
the so-called gatekeepers have no incentive or even an
26:41
ideological desire to shut them out.
26:44
This isn't a glitch, it's a feature of a broken system.
26:48
And here's the kicker. It's a problem caused by
26:50
bureaucrats now threatening American interests at home and
26:52
abroad. It's not just about fraud, waste
26:54
and abuse. This is a threat to American
26:57
National security and potentially criminal.
26:59
And this committee should take action to ensure that the
27:01
Department of Justice acts on it and does everything that can.
27:04
Congress's power to not just investigate, but refer criminal
27:07
actions to the proper authorities.
27:09
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Roman.
27:14
I now recognize Tyler O'Neill for his opening statement.
27:18
Chairwoman Green, Members of the subcommittee, the last few weeks
27:22
a feature revelation after revelation of how our tax
27:26
dollars have been spent propping up radical left wing causes
27:30
across the world. Yet what struck me about the
27:34
abuse of foreign aid has been the connections with leftist
27:37
activists here at home. As a senior editor at The Daily
27:42
Signal, I researched the Left's Dark Money Network, which
27:46
propped up the influence campaign I exposed in my book,
27:50
The Woke of Us. I found that leftist elites prop
27:54
up NGOs that staffed and advised the Biden administration,
27:59
pushing unpopular policies on the American people through the
28:03
bureaucracy. In my remarks, I will present 3
28:07
examples of how the Left's Dark Money Network intersects with
28:11
just one agency focused on foreign aid, the US Agency for
28:16
International Development. The views I will express in this
28:20
testimony are my own. The Left's Dark Money Network
28:24
features George Soros and his Open Society Foundations, the
28:29
Tides Foundation, and the network of nonprofits
28:34
established by Arabella Advisors.
28:43
These groups, which you can see on this chart, funnel cash to
28:47
DEI, transgender and climate alarmist causes divisive issues
28:53
that the Biden administration prioritized over addressing the
28:56
concrete needs of the American people.
29:00
The Left's Dark Money Network has deep ties to USAID, which
29:04
has rightly received renewed scrutiny under Doge and and
29:09
after Elon Musk shined a light on it.
29:12
While the Open Society Foundations has stated that it
29:14
does not receive funds from USAID or direct USAID spending,
29:20
the Soros founded nonprofit has a long history with USAID.
29:24
In 2001, the Soros Foundation's network, which became Open
29:29
Society, listed USAID among its donor partners.
29:33
Open Society and USAID have jointly funded the Organized
29:37
Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a news outlet that
29:41
attacked conservatives for, you guessed it, criticizing Soros.
29:46
Open Society and USAID also jointly fund the East West
29:51
Management Institute. Among other things, the
29:54
institute launched court changes in Albania that critics allege
29:58
resulted in the prosecution of Albanian opposition leader Sali
30:03
Borisha silencing the opponent of the country's socialist Prime
30:07
Minister. Open Society has hired at least
30:11
five former USAID staff, including at least one high
30:15
level official who worked at USAID providing services amid
30:19
political transitions in foreign countries.
30:23
Former USAID administrator Samantha Power met at least
30:27
twice with Open Society leaders. USAID has directly funded a
30:32
different organization in the left's dark money network, the
30:36
Tide Center. The agency has awarded more than
30:39
$27 million in grants to the center.
30:43
You'll find the Tides Foundation right here.
30:47
The Tides Center has funded many of the leftist groups that
30:50
influenced the Biden administration and it also
30:53
operates its own in house nonprofit called Palestine Legal
30:58
which represents anti Israel rioters in court and gives them
31:02
legal advice. Former USAID staff have also
31:06
gone on to work for Arabella Advisors which is a for profit
31:11
company that set up pass through nonprofits.
31:14
These groups allow donors to support specific projects
31:18
without being associated with these projects.
31:20
One of the nonprofits, New Venture Fund, set up a secretive
31:24
group called Governing for Impact, even though Governing
31:27
for Impact had existed for barely two years and did not
31:31
appear on in a Google search at the time.
31:33
Its leaders met with and advised top staff in the Biden
31:37
administration, executive level bureaucrats who oversaw the vast
31:41
federal bureaucracy. Leaders of the Rockefeller
31:45
Foundation, another funder in the left's dark Money network,
31:48
previously held roles at USAID, including the former
31:51
administrator who now serves as the foundation's president.
31:56
Other USAID staff have gone on to work at the nonprofits that
31:59
staffed and advised the Biden administration, including the
32:03
Center for American Progress, the Human Rights Campaign and
32:06
the American Civil Liberties Union.
32:09
Personnel is policy, and these connections between the left's
32:13
influence campaign on the Biden administration and USAID reveal
32:17
how local elites have captured the enterprise of foreign aid.
32:22
Thank you. Thank you.
32:28
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questions and I will
32:32
inform this, this committee and the the public watching that if
32:38
pardon. Oh, sorry.
32:40
I'm sorry Mr. Unger, apologize. I didn't mean to skip over you.
32:45
I now recognize Mr. Unger for 5 minutes.
32:49
Madam Chair, Ranking Member Stansbury, Distinguished members
32:53
of the Subcommittee, I'm honored to share my views with you.
32:56
They're my own and not those of my current or former employers.
32:59
I've served at USAID in the State Department in multiple
33:02
roles and in non governmental positions focused on US foreign
33:05
aid reform and global development.
33:08
My government service took place during the administrations of
33:10
Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
33:14
Every US administration since World War 2 has wanted to shape
33:17
foreign aid in line with its goals.
33:20
But strangling the system into extinction is akin to
33:23
unilaterally disarming. At a time of mounting
33:26
geopolitical competition for partnerships globally, Throwing
33:30
away our toolbox does not make us safer or well positioned to
33:33
influence the world. Our set of foreign aid tools
33:36
reflects enlightened self-interest.
33:39
With it, the US countered communism and enhance the
33:41
education, farming, productivity and health of people around the
33:45
world, while also saving lives. Our international AIDS and
33:48
malaria programs have collectively saved more than
33:51
35,000,000 lives over the past couple decades.
33:54
US assistance has also built partnerships and economic
33:56
growth, so much so that 11 of America's 15 biggest trading
34:01
partners were former recipients of US foreign assistance.
34:05
We are now in a period of renewed geostrategic
34:08
competition. China has been vying with the US
34:11
for partnerships across the global S inking deals where it
34:14
can. China can and will fill soft
34:17
power voids left by the US. Other potential threats to our
34:21
security are also connected to developing countries and fragile
34:24
states, from the potential resurgence of ISIS in the Middle
34:27
East to the spreading influence of Islamist militants and
34:30
Russian mercenaries across the Sahel.
34:33
On the eastern edge of Europe, Russian aggression may continue
34:36
to grow unchecked. And in Colombia, the strife from
34:38
neighboring Venezuela is spilling over to yield the worst
34:41
violence in a generation. With that backdrop, the
34:45
administration has abruptly and collectively disabled US tools
34:49
of foreign assistance. The White House has said it is
34:51
cutting programs that do not benefit Americans.
34:54
But their approach is dismantling many programs that
34:58
help Americans, thereby cutting off our nose to spite our face.
35:02
This is evident in many ways. First, the government has
35:06
purchased more than $2 billion in food aid annually from
35:09
American farmers. And American farms supply more
35:12
than 40% of the food aid USAID sends around the world.
35:16
But with the foreign aid freeze and stop work order, rice, wheat
35:19
and soybeans are going to waste in transit and in ports.
35:22
In Houston alone, hundreds of tons of American grown wheat
35:26
have been stranded. The recklessness of the current
35:30
approach is evident in health efforts too.
35:33
We need our foreign aid to prevent outbreaks of infectious
35:36
diseases from spreading before reaching our shores.
35:39
But US funded early detection and treatment for deadly
35:41
diseases like Ebola have sputtered to a standstill.
35:45
Even where very few waivers have been issued for some life saving
35:49
assistance. Reports from implementers
35:51
indicate that few, if any, programs have actually resumed
35:54
due to payment systems not functioning and USAID staff
35:57
layoffs. It is also counterproductive to
36:01
eviscerate programs focused on other transnational concerns
36:04
ranging from conflict and corruption to migration and the
36:07
trafficking of people and drugs. This unserious review process is
36:12
additionally causing our government to be tied up in
36:14
court cases that may drag on for years and prove costly in
36:17
connection to broken contracts and potential violations of law.
36:21
These losses are unnecessary even if, or perhaps especially
36:25
if you believe, like I do, in need the need for reforms.
36:28
It is critically important to be able to differentiate between
36:31
waste and congressionally appropriated projects that may
36:34
reflect different policy priorities.
36:37
Waste is the food rotting in ports, it's the purchase
36:40
medicines that cannot be distributed.
36:42
It is the cutting of programs and firing of people that then
36:45
in turn prevents this administration from being able
36:48
to meet its own foreign policy goals.
36:51
Going forward, government will need an oversight approach to
36:54
programming that includes the following 1A Congressional
36:58
notification and review process so committees can pause or halt
37:01
projects. 2 Implementing partners should undergo audits
37:05
and submit detailed plans and quarterly expenditure reports.
37:09
3IN highly insecure context, there should be a vetting of key
37:12
program staff against classified counterterror databases before
37:16
U.S. dollars are spent. And four, an Inspector General
37:19
should be empowered to conduct investigations and other
37:22
activities to help identify, prevent, and punish any proven
37:25
misuse of taxpayer funding. The issue before you today is
37:28
that these elements are precisely the safeguards that
37:31
have already been in place at USAID.
37:34
But the staffing to carry it out has just been gutted.
37:37
By destroying the system of oversight, the administration
37:40
has done more damage to effective programming than any
37:42
specific project, failures critics of foreign aid may
37:45
choose to highlight. We should all care about foreign
37:48
aid. We should care enough to make it
37:49
better, not kill it. Congress has a role to play.
37:53
Thank you. Thank you, witnesses, for your
37:57
testimony. Again, Mr. Unger, I apologize.
38:01
We can also confirm the World Program posted that the recent
38:06
pause concerning in kind food assistance to WFP has been
38:11
rescinded. This allows for resumption of
38:13
food purchases and deliveries. Madam Chair, USAID.
38:17
Madam Chair, are we are we going member to Member?
38:20
Or do you get to make a speech in between each each witness?
38:24
If you're going to offer evidence, you're not, you're not
38:27
recognized. You're not recognized.
38:29
It's my time. I now recognize myself for 5
38:33
minutes of questions, and this committee, based on this hearing
38:38
and witness testimonies, will consider recommending
38:42
investigations and criminal referrals.
38:45
When Joe Biden was president, his son Hunter was on the board
38:49
of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma.
38:53
The prosecutor general of Ukraine at the time, Victor
38:56
Shokin, was investigating Burisma for corruption.
38:59
Biden threatened and is on video to withhold 1 billion of USAID
39:04
grant to Ukraine if Shogun wasn't fired.
39:07
Mr. Premarat is USAID supposed to be used as leveraged by a
39:12
president to protect his son. No, we call that corruption.
39:22
Mr. Premarack, in your estimation, roughly what
39:24
percentage of USAID funding is doled out to bad actors or to
39:28
efforts that don't have the best interests of Americans in mind?
39:33
I think what troubles me most is learning.
39:35
I believe last year, following the the hard work of the House
39:39
Foreign Affairs Committee and Senator Joni Ernst, that USAID
39:44
has been paying out over 50% is of to overhead charges.
39:50
The Office of Inspector General of USAID criticized the agency
39:56
for not knowing the overhead charges being handed out to all
40:00
of these actors for $142 billion of disbursements.
40:05
That is extremely troubling. Yes, Mr. Premarat.
40:08
Samantha Power, Biden's USAID administrator, openly spoke
40:13
about her agency's efforts to promote democracy around the
40:17
world. And your estimation, Mr.
40:18
Primarac, is that what she was doing?
40:21
If not, was USAID do? What was USAID doing during the
40:26
Biden administration? Let me cite the Holy Father,
40:30
Pope Francis, who accused USAID and other donors of promoting
40:34
ideological colonization, pushing a radical ideology onto
40:39
the developing world that is anti family and anti life.
40:44
It has been asserted that USAID spent 10s of millions of
40:48
American taxpayer dollars to promote propaganda in Brazil in
40:51
the lead up to the balsa narrow Lula election in 2022.
40:56
It has been claimed that this funding was used to pass
40:59
censorship laws in silence Bolsonaro's online presence and
41:04
even bar him from running for office in the future.
41:07
Mr. Primer, can you offer any insight into these allegations,
41:10
or at least comment on whether the US should play a role in
41:14
toppling democratic processes around the world?
41:17
I think what we saw was USAID weaponized by the Biden
41:20
administration and by Samantha Power to attack any party that
41:24
was conservative. It just didn't happen in in
41:27
Brazil. It also happened for instance
41:29
very pro America, Poland and Hungary as well.
41:33
One of the most extensive examples of regime regime change
41:36
operations fueled by USAID is that of their role in the Syrian
41:41
civil war aimed at toppling Bashar al-Assad.
41:44
Reports from DD Geopolitics and other sources estimate that
41:48
USAID funneled over 15 billion into Syria over a decade,
41:52
covertly funding opposition groups, mercenaries and anti
41:56
government networks under the cover of humanitarian aid.
42:00
This included support for militant factions and propaganda
42:03
efforts, often in collaboration with the National Endowment for
42:07
Democracy. The operation culminated in
42:10
Assad's overthrow in 2024 by Western backed groups with USAI
42:15
DS financial trails documented in Congressional Budget reports
42:19
and criticized by Syrian officials as interference masses
42:23
assistance. Mr. Roman, do these kinds of
42:26
activities carried out by an American agency make Americans
42:30
safer at home, or do they risk embroiling us in more deadly and
42:34
costly foreign conflicts? When the agency is doing it
42:37
according to the way in which represents American National
42:39
security interests, it's correct.
42:41
But when it's abused for political purposes, ideological
42:44
umbrage, and sponsoring Islamism, which is inherently
42:47
anti American, it is the worst exhaustion of American taxpayer
42:50
money that can be thought of, especially when it leads to the
42:52
loss and danger to American lives.
42:57
In 2014, during the Euro maiden uprising in Ukraine which led to
43:01
the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich, USAID is estimated
43:06
to have spent billions of dollars on civil society
43:08
initiatives that were allegedly designed to destabilize the pro
43:12
Russian government. USAID specifically funded NGOs
43:16
and media outlets that amplified the anti Yanukovich sentiment in
43:20
an effort to align Ukraine more closely with the West.
43:24
We also know that 9 out of 10 of Ukraine's major media outlets
43:28
receive funding from USAID. Mr. Roman, Should Americans tax
43:34
dollars be funding propaganda? When it's pro American
43:37
propaganda, yes, but if it's supporting another regime which
43:40
is inherently anti American, no, it should have no involvement
43:42
with that, which is the pattern we've seen under the Biden and
43:45
Obama administrations. Thank you.
43:48
I now recognize the ranking member for 5 minutes.
43:53
All right, Well, thank you, everyone, and good morning.
43:55
I appreciate that this committee is going to shed some light on
43:59
what's going on at USAID, but I do really wish that our friend
44:04
with his golden chainsaw would drop on by.
44:07
Because you know what, Mr. Moss? We really would like to know
44:10
what you're up to. And so far, our friends across
44:13
the aisle have shielded you from appearing in front of Congress.
44:16
So come on down, bring your chainsaw.
44:19
We'll be happy to host you. Let's dive into some of our
44:23
questions with the witnesses here.
44:25
Mr. Primrock, I appreciate your federal service.
44:27
Thank you for serving as a Fed. I hope that you do not share
44:32
some of the same sentiments we've heard here in Congress
44:34
over the last several days, that our federal workers are somehow
44:38
enemies of the state, but in fact, are selfless, dedicated
44:42
individuals to serve our federal government and dedicate their
44:45
life to this work. And I understand that you were
44:48
the author of the USAID chapter Project 2025.
44:52
Is that correct? Yes, that is correct.
44:55
And I was intrigued to read it last night because there was a
44:59
number of things that I agreed with, both in your testimony and
45:03
in the chapter. In fact, some of the things that
45:05
I agreed about are that US foreign aid is a powerful tool,
45:10
that it should align with national security interests,
45:13
that we should not be empowering foreign adversaries.
45:16
And I too, am also deeply concerned about autocratic
45:19
regimes like our adversaries in China, who are aggressively
45:23
investing in soft power at the expense of the United States.
45:28
And I also agree strongly with all the witnesses that we need
45:32
reforms to our foreign aid, that we need more oversight, vetting,
45:35
auditing and inspection of what is going on.
45:40
However, and I I recognize that Mister Premarat, you didn't
45:43
really touch on this in your oral testimony here today.
45:48
I was surprised that in Project 2025 and some of your other
45:53
statements that one of the primary areas that you really
45:57
have disagreed with the foreign aid that has happened under
46:00
other administrations is in the areas specifically of climate
46:04
change, LGBTQ rights issues and promoting diversity and DEI.
46:08
Is that correct? Yes.
46:11
Yes. And although you did not testify
46:14
as much today here about these issues, I want to just make sure
46:18
you you do believe in climate change, correct?
46:23
Climate change, Sure, climate change is all the time.
46:25
I'm a big reader of history. You can see throughout the
46:28
millennia. Absolutely.
46:30
And you understand that right now, our allies in the Pacific,
46:33
who are on the front lines and pushing back against Chinese
46:36
authoritarianism are requesting climate assistance from the
46:40
United States because they are facing some of the most extreme
46:44
impacts of climate change, correct?
46:46
According to USAID documents. Yes or no, Sir?
46:50
You understand that about our Pacific allies, right?
46:53
Of people killed by climate change, 99% drops.
46:56
Sir, the question. Radicalism.
46:58
Do you? Understand that our Pacific
47:00
allies, who we have defense agreements and compacts with,
47:04
are asking the United States for climate assistance.
47:07
As for the exchange, to provide a place for the United States,
47:12
for example, to push back against Chinese
47:14
authoritarianism. You understand that, correct?
47:17
Yes. Under Trump, yes.
47:18
OK, So that is why we are involved in providing financial
47:24
assistance and foreign aid around climate change in
47:26
addition to the fact that it is a global threat.
47:29
Now I understand that you also, and I'm not even going to use
47:33
the language here because I don't, I very much disagree with
47:37
it, but I, I just want to ask you agree that LGBTQ people
47:43
exist and have human rights, right?
47:47
Absolutely. We were doing that under.
47:48
Trump one and and you also agree that our governments and our
47:53
institutions should look like and reflect the people that they
47:56
represent, especially overseas. It's part of being able to
48:01
actually engage with foreign governments, correct?
48:05
If we want to do counter China, there's nothing more that has
48:07
alienated billions of people. Than pushing an.
48:10
Ideology that they resent. OK, well, I I see that you're
48:14
not interested in engaging in the conversation.
48:16
And while we can agree to disagree, I'll take this as a
48:20
difference in values, maybe worldview.
48:23
But I just want to point out here that this perfectly aligns
48:26
with what the Trump administration is doing and
48:28
trying to gut programs around diversity, equity, inclusion,
48:33
supporting LGBTQ rights and human rights overseas and
48:37
climate change and helping our allies overseas.
48:41
And this is not waste, fraud and abuse.
48:44
This is a different worldview. You can't just call something
48:48
waste, fraud and abuse because you disagree with it.
48:52
Now, Mr. O'Neill, it's nice to see you here again.
48:56
So I am out of time and I will circle back.
48:59
Thank you. I now recognize the gentleman
49:02
from Texas, Mr. Cloud, for 5 minutes.
49:06
Thank you, Sharon woman, and I appreciate you holding this
49:08
hearing. I appreciate you witnesses for
49:10
being here. It's been astonishing to watch.
49:13
We already knew that there was a tremendous amount of waste,
49:15
fraud and abuse in our federal government, but to watch over
49:17
the last few weeks as the extent and egregiousness of it has been
49:23
revealed. I've said a number of times how
49:28
aggravating it is that this government is forcing the
49:30
American people to pay for the demise of their own country.
49:34
We've seen this a number of times, especially in how foreign
49:37
aid is treated. And much of this funding we're
49:40
realizing now, as Mr. O'Neill has pointed out, we're
49:43
uncovering is the world's largest money laundering scheme
49:47
in in history. And so I would like to think
49:52
that if this these kind of things were put to a vote that
49:55
our friends on the left wouldn't vote to support a pickle maker
49:59
in the Ukraine or to have a transgender operas in other
50:04
countries or to send people to Paris Fashion Week and the like.
50:09
I, I would like to think if that was a vote that that would also
50:11
get a no vote on the other side of the aisle that this dollar
50:13
should be funding. But you got to wonder about the
50:16
vitriol you see when these things come in cover to protect
50:19
these things. Now, definitely the border
50:21
trafficking institution that was set up, the complete industry,
50:25
the censorship apparatus. Those are examples where we
50:28
really saw that these taxpayer dollar funds were going to these
50:31
Ng OS that were purely leftist organizations that were turning
50:34
out voters and getting all this basically being a campaign front
50:37
at taxpayer expense. And so you got to wonder how
50:40
this is happening because this is not in the legislation.
50:43
There's no line item in the legislation that has these sort
50:45
of things in it. So Mr. Primark, I'd like to ask
50:48
you where, where are these decisions being made?
50:50
Who's who's making the decisions about where these dollars go?
50:54
This is a combination of cooperation between the Congress
50:57
and and the White House. I can tell you that during my
50:59
tenure at USAID, everything that we did had strong bipartisan
51:04
support, unfortunately, when President Biden came in.
51:08
But it's it's someone in an agency somewhere.
51:10
Is that right? Making the decision at a how,
51:13
how's that decision made? Who's making that decision Like
51:16
that is before the check goes out, who's pushing the button
51:18
that says send this, check it cut.
51:20
It starts with the administrator, goes down to the
51:22
Bureau level and the office and the office level.
51:25
But in the end, contract officers have to make sure at
51:27
the Office of acquisition procurement that these are
51:30
following US laws and the policies of the press contract
51:34
officers. Now, are these people elected?
51:37
We hear a lot about elected officials making these, you
51:39
know, certain decisions. There's no one at USAID that is
51:42
elected. So yeah, so the the people
51:44
sending money are not elected officials.
51:45
Okay. Just wanted to clarify that one
51:47
of the issues we've had is trying to track this dollars
51:50
once we it goes out to bring accountability to it.
51:54
And, and, and there is no connection that we've been able
51:59
to find to an employee ID number, for example, connected
52:03
to where the grant money is going out of the contract money
52:05
is going out. We're working on legislation to
52:07
to fix that. But one of the things that's
52:09
really disturbing is the fact that some of the money that's
52:13
going out doesn't even have a name of where it's going out.
52:15
You talked about that, Mister Roman, could you speak to that
52:17
for a second? It's to the tune of billions of
52:19
dollars. Correct.
52:20
Miscellaneous foreign awardees. The issue with it is, is that
52:23
while the individual grantees have to apply for a vetting
52:27
process that USCID conducts in terms of the government review,
52:30
including with counterterrorism databases, there's a self
52:34
certification process by their sub grantees.
52:37
It's as if though you hire a contract in your house to read
52:39
your living room and he hires a bunch of robbers to take
52:41
everything out and you're left with the spades on the wall
52:44
rather than having a fully renovated room itself.
52:46
And, and so some of these dollars have been going to
52:48
support terrorist organizations. Right.
52:50
And his. Spare dollars going to support
52:51
support. Now, what would happen if we
52:53
found a business that was funneling money to the Taliban?
52:57
They would be indicted, they would be charged, go before
53:01
trial and go to jail for a 20 year sentence for money
53:03
laundering or for material support for terrorism.
53:05
So, so this is one of those cases where it's only, it's only
53:08
legal if the government's doing it.
53:09
Right in the opening chairman's remarks, she was saying that
53:13
this is about fraud, waste and abuse and if there was anyone
53:15
else, it's as if there were. Private citizen can't do this,
53:18
but if AUS government agency or bureaucrat wants to give money
53:20
to a terror organization it's OK.
53:22
Yeah, I find that atrocious. I think the American people do
53:25
too. Mr. Prerak, I want to touch on
53:27
one thing because I've, I've, I've talked to ambassadors
53:30
across the world and you hear this.
53:32
We'd like to align ourselves with the United States.
53:34
We don't want to align ourselves with China.
53:36
But when we're talking to China, they're talking roads, bridges,
53:39
infrastructure, those kind of things, things we traditionally
53:42
know in a soft power. But right now when they're
53:45
talking to the United States, what they've got from our State
53:47
Department over the last few years is social reengineering.
53:50
Many of them have come to say, you know, our nation espouses
53:53
judeo-christian values. They don't.
53:55
And and even as I talked to pastors across our country who
53:57
are working to send millions into missionaries, their eyes
54:01
and Christian universities to understand the fact that our
54:04
State Department is actually sending billions to counteract
54:07
those ideals. Could you speak to that?
54:09
You can quickly answer. We have to move on.
54:11
I've speaking to many foreign African officials, for example,
54:14
when they're meeting with Mr. Blinken.
54:17
They were ready to talk counter genocide.
54:18
Instead they got to social re engineering.
54:22
I now recognize the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Lynch,
54:26
for 5 minutes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
54:29
First of all, I want to thank the witnesses for helping the
54:32
committee with its work. I've been here a while.
54:35
So I was here actually when President George W Bush was
54:40
confronted with, with wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
54:44
And, and in the midst of that, members of this committee, I, I,
54:49
I was in the lead because I was chair of the national, the
54:53
National Security Subcommittee. We went to Iraq and Afghanistan
54:57
and we we vetted some of the billions of dollars that that
55:02
the president spent over there. Some of it was wisely spent in
55:06
in the best interest of protecting our our sons and
55:08
daughters in uniform. Others purely wasted that that I
55:12
think fell into the hands of of our enemies.
55:15
I think that has been true of every administration that has
55:20
that I tried as they might to to to strengthen America's national
55:25
security by investments abroad. I do want to say that what, what
55:32
troubles me greatly is that now we have a cessation of all
55:37
foreign aid. And, you know, just take Ukraine
55:41
for example. You know, I know it's been $174
55:45
billion in, in aid from the US to to Ukraine.
55:48
It's important to note that that 174 billion, most of it was
55:54
spent here in the United States. And paying defense workers and
55:59
defense contractors and putting Americans to work 90% of that on
56:03
on the defense side. And then when you look at the
56:06
the grain shipments that we have made not only to Ukraine but to
56:09
others, because obviously their agricultural systems are
56:13
inoperable right now. Those are American farmers.
56:16
And Madam Chair, I I would like to ask for unanimous consent
56:20
just to submit this article from The Associated Press entitled
56:24
The USAID Shutdown is Up, Ending the Livelihoods of Farmers and
56:29
Other Americans. Without objection.
56:31
Thank you, Madam Chair. So, and and what also troubles
56:35
me is that now we have a president saying that Ukraine
56:39
started the war. And Mr. Roman, you're a really
56:43
smart guy. You're up on this stuff.
56:45
You pay attention. Do do you seriously believe
56:49
that? That Vladimir, I'm sorry that
56:52
Zelensky invaded, invaded Russia, OK.
56:56
No, Sir. OK, I'm just happy to hear say
56:59
that I expected that. But look, members on this, this,
57:04
this committee, some someone new, so some weren't there, but
57:06
we, we all sat in classified briefings for months.
57:10
Where our defense and intelligence personnel would
57:14
brief us and say, OK, this week Vladimir Putin is moving his
57:20
armored divisions from Vladivostok in, in, in eastern
57:24
Russia, 4000 miles and, and, and, and positioning them in
57:29
front of the Ukraine border, anticipating an invasion.
57:32
And then, you know, afterwards, after the invasion, actually
57:37
2020 I think it was. Putin took credit, said I
57:42
ordered the special operation against Ukraine.
57:45
And yet, you know, we have a president saying the opposite.
57:49
He's saying that that that Ukraine invaded Russia.
57:53
We start they started the war. And it's it's just, you know, to
57:58
to restate Mr. Primarak's question, was there one
58:02
Republican in the room that raised their hand and said, no,
58:05
Mr. President? No, Mr. President, that is a
58:08
lie. That is false.
58:11
I didn't hear anything. Not one of my colleagues
58:15
corrected the president and stood up to him and said no, Mr.
58:18
President. No, Mr. President.
58:21
It was Russia. It was.
58:23
Russia that started that war, they invaded, they invaded
58:27
Ukraine and it's right for the US to stand with Ukraine and
58:32
their people. I didn't hear any of that.
58:34
That's what, that's what troubles me.
58:37
You know, I, I had instances where I agreed with George W
58:40
Bush on some things and I had plenty that I, I disagreed.
58:45
But you know, that that's, that's Congress's role here.
58:50
That's our job to call out, call out the truth to power.
58:58
And so this this idea that that all foreign aid should be should
59:04
be suspended is is is is an attack on common sense.
59:10
It's a it's an attack on on American National security for
59:15
this country. And we should be more careful.
59:19
I agree. Let's look at the years worth
59:22
spending foreign aid in an area and in a way that is good for US
59:26
National Security and less. Let's get rid of the stuff some
59:30
of it you've already pointed out that it is not in our in our
59:33
central interest that that's a good process that I would like
59:36
to engage in. Thank you, Madam Chair.
59:38
I yield back. I now recognize the gentleman
59:41
from South Carolina, Mr. Timmons, for 5 minutes.
59:45
Thank you, Madam Chair. My colleagues across the aisle
59:48
are quick to judge the actions of this President in the early
59:51
days of his administration. But I didn't hear any loud
59:56
voices from across the aisle when President Biden, who is
1:00:01
clearly experiencing severe cognitive decline, ran this
1:00:07
country. I don't even know who was
1:00:08
running the country. I don't know who was making the
1:00:09
decisions. I don't know how those decisions
1:00:11
were being formed and who was signing the executive orders he
1:00:15
was engaging in. You know, so it's just very rich
1:00:19
that I'm hearing all of these concerns about President Trump's
1:00:25
efforts. To negotiate peace in Ukraine
1:00:28
and the manner in which he's going about it.
1:00:30
And I hate it, but I think I have to set the record straight
1:00:33
because President Trump and his team went to Munich, to the
1:00:41
security conference just weeks ago, and they were engaged in
1:00:45
diplomacy. They were trying to create an
1:00:48
opportunity for the United States to have a financial and
1:00:52
economic interest in the future of Ukraine.
1:00:56
And that was through a minerals deal. the US has a strategic
1:01:02
interest in having a long term supply chain for rare earth
1:01:07
minerals. And so President Trump said we
1:01:10
can get on board with this. Let's do this.
1:01:12
It might not be the NATO membership that they want, but
1:01:15
it's a close second. And so your concern is related
1:01:21
to those conversations because Zelensky originally said, yes,
1:01:24
let's do it. That sounds like a good deal.
1:01:26
And then within 24 hours, he backtracked.
1:01:28
He did 180. And he actually started
1:01:30
disparaging President Trump, and he was disparaging the
1:01:32
administration. So, yeah, President Trump said
1:01:36
some things and tried to create pressure to then bring Zelensky
1:01:39
back to the table. Whoa, guess what?
1:01:41
Guess who's on the way to Washington to sign the minerals
1:01:44
deal? So I get it that my colleagues
1:01:48
across the House want to throw stones at everything that
1:01:50
President Trump does. My favorite was when President
1:01:53
Trump was engaging with Canada and Mexico and the Democrats
1:01:58
didn't even have time to throw stones at his attempt to bring
1:02:02
them to the table, secure their side of the border, because it
1:02:05
only took them four or five hours to come to the table.
1:02:08
The articles hadn't even gone to print yet.
1:02:10
So, look, President Trump is going to negotiate peace in
1:02:14
Ukraine. He's going to bring all of our
1:02:16
hostages home in Gaza, and he has deserved the leeway.
1:02:21
Now to the issue at hand. USAID, 77 million people voted
1:02:28
for President Trump because we are out of balance.
1:02:32
The Biden administration, whoever was running the show,
1:02:34
engaged in ridiculous policies that the American people
1:02:37
disagree with, whether it's with ADEI or, you know, trans
1:02:42
policies, Whatever it is, we're turning the page and we're not
1:02:46
going to abdicate our leadership in the global community.
1:02:48
We're going to hit reset because we are so out of balance that
1:02:54
all we can do is go to zero and then build back because we're
1:02:57
not going to spend $2,000,000 on sex changes in Guatemala or
1:03:02
$32,000 for a transgender comic book improve.
1:03:04
These are ridiculous policies that the American people have
1:03:08
overwhelmingly said they do not want.
1:03:11
So, Mr. Roman, to the issue at hand, how do we make sure when
1:03:15
we get our foreign aid back running that we don't give money
1:03:19
to terrorists? That's a great question.
1:03:22
So there's four recommendations that I would offer.
1:03:24
The 1st is no more miscellaneous listenings.
1:03:26
As we had heard from the gentleman before, we have to use
1:03:29
public vetting processes that require complete transparency,
1:03:32
encourage independent audits and made a strict screening.
1:03:35
Why did we not have transparency before?
1:03:37
I have the last 18 months been trying to get information about
1:03:41
a grant made to what we believe is a Hamas affiliate and the
1:03:44
Freedom of Information Act department or the Freedom of
1:03:46
Information officer. USCID has stonewalled me for the
1:03:49
last year and a half, and this goes back all the way to 2015.
1:03:52
It's as it feels, bureaucrats. Think they know?
1:03:54
Better bureaucrats think they know better.
1:03:55
Guess what, we're going to create transparency across all
1:03:59
of government and that is what President Trump is doing through
1:04:03
Elon Musk. Elon Musk has been asked by the
1:04:05
president to serve and he is going to bring transparency, not
1:04:08
just USAID, to every single nook and cranny of the government
1:04:12
because that is what the American people want.
1:04:14
And it's 2025. We have the ability to do that.
1:04:17
Mister Roman, continue. What else can we do?
1:04:19
Make sure I'll go quick. I know we're limited, stronger
1:04:21
accountability mechanisms, claw back provisions, stiff penalties
1:04:24
for misuse, criminal investigations.
1:04:26
If you go towards the terrorism financial.
1:04:28
The State Department Under Secretary Rubio's review must
1:04:31
have a road map for better oversight.
1:04:32
And lastly, the Legislature must give teeth to its funding bills.
1:04:37
We have to be able to have robust penalties, transparency
1:04:39
mandates and real time oversight tools rather than waiting three
1:04:42
years to get reports from contractors when they've already
1:04:44
committed the violation past the statute of limitation.
1:04:48
We all know sunlight is the best disinfectant and that's that's
1:04:51
the path forward. With that, Madam Chair, I yield
1:04:53
back. Thank you.
1:04:56
A member of the public audience made an obscene gesture.
1:05:00
It was caught on camera to a member of Congress.
1:05:03
I would like to remind everyone in the hearing room to follow
1:05:07
the rules of decorum. Capitol Police will now remove
1:05:10
the offender, and I expect members of the audience to
1:05:13
maintain decorum. We'll take a pause for a brief
1:05:21
moment. Point of order or a point of
1:05:40
clarification, Madam Chair? OK, well, never mind.
1:05:55
Do you have a parliamentary inquiry?
1:05:57
Nope. OK, I'm OK now.
1:05:59
OK, I now recognize the gentleman from California, Mr.
1:06:03
Garcia for 5 minutes. OK.
1:06:06
Well, thank you to our working member, our chairwoman, and I
1:06:11
want to thank our witnesses for also for being here today.
1:06:14
Thank you all for for joining us.
1:06:17
So this is obviously our second hearing on DOGE and certainly as
1:06:21
Elon Musk and Donald Trump work together to destroy our federal
1:06:25
agencies. Now, a lot has happened in just
1:06:28
the last few weeks since DOGE has been off raiding the federal
1:06:33
agencies that we care so much about.
1:06:36
We know that FAA staff have been fired, making our airspace less
1:06:39
safe. Veterans Affairs staff have been
1:06:42
fired, risking services for our vets.
1:06:45
Food safety and health staff have been fired as we face a
1:06:49
bird flu pandemic. And all of our agencies have
1:06:52
been thrown into chaos by Elon Musk's emails demanding, of
1:06:56
course, that federal workers respond to what they're doing in
1:07:00
the last week, which he's now had to, of course, retract.
1:07:04
Now, we're here today to discuss Elon's attack on foreign aid,
1:07:08
which has been severe. And I want to also bring again,
1:07:12
this is a pic of Co president Elon Musk, who of course, is
1:07:16
leading doge. And I brought this pic, of
1:07:18
course, to our last hearing. And I know some folks were upset
1:07:23
by it. But just to be clear, we know
1:07:27
that Elon Musk is dangerous. He's incompetent, he's chaotic,
1:07:33
and he's killing programs that we rely on.
1:07:37
We know that he's helping to push through massive cuts to
1:07:40
Medicaid that could RIP healthcare away from millions.
1:07:44
He's pushing tax cuts that will benefit him and his billionaire
1:07:47
friends, and he's causing real harm to federal workers.
1:07:52
Now, some of Mr. Musk's most damaging actions have actually
1:07:55
been towards USAID, which we're discussing today.
1:08:00
Over 14,000 adults and 1500 infants have now been estimated
1:08:05
to have possibly died because of the Trump administration's
1:08:08
attack on AIDS treatment programs that are actually
1:08:12
ongoing as we know they're hurting real people and damaging
1:08:16
our national security. Now, if you look at this chart
1:08:19
and you look at all spending in the government and you want to
1:08:22
look at foreign aid, of course, of which USAID is a part of,
1:08:25
it's less than 1% of our total budget.
1:08:29
USAID spends around $40 billion per year, around $40 billion per
1:08:35
year of this entire federal budget.
1:08:38
Meanwhile, other parts of the budget, including, for example,
1:08:41
the Defense Department, spend almost 16% of all federal
1:08:45
spending in fiscal year 2025. In fact, about half of other
1:08:50
discretionary spending in this chart.
1:08:52
Now, the Department of Defense is the only agency to never pass
1:08:55
an audit. USAID actually passes audits all
1:08:59
the time. And yet we're attacking the one
1:09:02
agency that actually is able to pass an audit, while we leave
1:09:06
untouched the agency, of course, that can't even pass an audit.
1:09:10
Last year, the Department of Defense failed to account for
1:09:13
63% of its assets. Trillions of dollars worth of
1:09:18
equipment haven't been properly documented.
1:09:20
And it's not just their failure to pass an audit.
1:09:22
I want to just quickly ask about some key programs that are over
1:09:25
budget and behind schedule. This, of course, we know here is
1:09:29
the F35 fighter jet will cost us 2 trillion over the course of
1:09:33
its life cycle. These planes are often delivered
1:09:36
late. They often cannot fly.
1:09:38
And right now we know that the F35 is $183 billion over budget.
1:09:45
Mr. Unger, which is more, the 183 billion cost over one of the
1:09:49
F35 or the entire USAID budget? The former that you mentioned,
1:09:54
Sir. And this is the literal combat
1:09:57
ship. The Navy, by the way, thinks
1:09:59
this is basically useless in actual combat.
1:10:02
Could, could have a lifetime cost of over $100 billion,
1:10:06
according to Pro Publica. Mr. Unger, that's also way more
1:10:10
than the entire USAID budget, Is that right?
1:10:12
Yes, way more. Thank you.
1:10:15
And I also want to just ask you about the Central
1:10:17
Intercontinental, the, I'm sorry, the Central
1:10:19
Intercontinental ballistic missile program, which has seen
1:10:21
its costs soar over 81% during its program cycle.
1:10:24
It costs $141 billion with cost overruns and soaring program
1:10:30
cost. Mr. Unger, you know what I'm
1:10:32
going to ask you, but is $141 billion more than the entire
1:10:36
USAID budget? Absolutely.
1:10:39
Mr. Unger, Elon Musk and his companies have received about
1:10:43
almost $40 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and
1:10:48
tax credits. That amount, that roughly $40
1:10:51
billion is basically enough to run USAID for an entire year.
1:10:55
Is that correct, Mr. Unger? That is correct for USAI DS
1:10:59
budget and the programs that it manages.
1:11:01
The majority isn't talking about Elon Musk programs or asked in
1:11:05
here to testify. They're attacking USAID and are
1:11:09
supporting a billionaire who gets richer every single day.
1:11:12
We got it pushed back every single time.
1:11:14
And with that I yield back. I now recognize the gentleman
1:11:19
from Tennessee, Mr. Burchett, for 5 minutes.
1:11:22
Thank you, Chair. Lady, Mr. Roman, are you aware
1:11:25
that we are sending $40 million a week to the to the Taliban?
1:11:31
Yes, Sir. Can you name other instances of
1:11:35
foreign aid going to terrorist organizations?
1:11:38
We have assisted al Shabaab in Somalia.
1:11:40
There's been instances of the Hamzi network in Sudan, Hamas,
1:11:44
Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Kapaiba, Hezbollah, Haya Takut
1:11:48
Al Shams in Syria. Dozens of terror organizations
1:11:51
have received indirect assistance from US foreign aid.
1:11:56
Could you elaborate a little bit on the mechanisms in place that
1:12:00
are to stop foreign aid from going to terrorist groups?
1:12:02
And why are they not working if we have any in place?
1:12:05
And I would note that these are, you notice these are terrorist
1:12:10
weaponry. You see some AKSSKSS, some
1:12:14
snipers and clips, some clip carriers probably made in China.
1:12:20
And I believe these are small land mines here beside right
1:12:24
there. Let's use Gaza as our case
1:12:27
study, $2.1 billion in American taxpayers money to Gaza since
1:12:31
October 7th when Hamas invaded southern Israel.
1:12:34
USAID money was going in terms of an emergency use
1:12:36
authorization to try to go to parties that USAID formerly had
1:12:40
a relationship with in the Gaza Strip.
1:12:42
They had to have been vetted by OFAC.
1:12:45
They should have been vetted against the special designated
1:12:47
terrorists from the State Department and from other
1:12:49
treasury organizations. Waivers were granted because
1:12:52
they said that there was an emergency use to have that money
1:12:54
come in to Gaza, thereby jettisoning the usual typical
1:12:58
screening procedures. As a result, 90% of aid that was
1:13:02
going from the United States States by way of its agents in
1:13:06
Gaza ended up in Hamas controlled areas.
1:13:09
And this is ridiculous. Essentially what the US
1:13:13
assistance to Gaza did was underwrite the ability for Hamas
1:13:17
to survive until the ceasefire was just passed a few weeks ago.
1:13:20
There was no strategic thought for it and there was no
1:13:23
screening. Seems like the emergency might
1:13:25
have been armed terrorists to kill civilians.
1:13:27
Would that be accurate? That's accurate.
1:13:29
And even more than that, Samantha Powers, the
1:13:31
administrator for USAID, was intent on having Israel not be
1:13:35
able to defend itself. To not be able to defend it,
1:13:38
Correct, Mr. Primarac? Is that correct?
1:13:43
How do you say that, Primarac? I got Birch it, man.
1:13:45
Nobody gets mine, right? So don't don't worry about it.
1:13:48
What is it Primarac? Perfect.
1:13:50
All right, Thanks, brother. How did terrorists explore our
1:13:53
foreign aid loopholes? Well, we have.
1:13:56
We have a lot of our Internet. You pull your mic up.
1:13:59
I'm sorry, I'm can you hear? Me.
1:14:01
Yes, Sir. You have international NGOs and
1:14:03
UN agencies actively lobby here in Washington, DC against
1:14:06
vetting, vetting policies that would prevent it.
1:14:09
I was the senior vetting officer at USCID.
1:14:12
And what? I'm saying, did you say United
1:14:14
Nations is doing this? Sure.
1:14:16
They everybody's, everybody's getting money lobbies here.
1:14:19
That they're lobbying against us.
1:14:21
I'm sorry, Mr. Roman, you're there's actually someone who
1:14:23
used to work for one of those lobbies, the largest NGO lobby
1:14:26
interaction. One of our Co witnesses here
1:14:28
work for them from 2018 to 2023. USAID effectively self funds its
1:14:34
own external private lobby that then goes back to Congress and
1:14:37
asks for more money for USAID. So the taxpayers fund this
1:14:41
lobbyist who's working against American interests, possibly
1:14:44
killing our allies and possibly Americans.
1:14:47
They bring together groups in Washington that overseas work
1:14:51
with groups that kill Americans. Yeah.
1:14:53
I don't need a flow chart to show that.
1:14:55
I appreciate it. Do you think USAID programs have
1:14:58
been aligned with the national security interests the US?
1:15:02
No, they have not. They have actually helped China.
1:15:05
Mr. Roman No OK, How do these programs compromise our national
1:15:09
security? Mr. Premarack.
1:15:11
They actually push China, they actually push so much of the
1:15:14
world towards China on the green energy agenda.
1:15:17
They push people, ordinary people, billions of people,
1:15:20
towards China because of the resentment caused by our social
1:15:23
reengineering. Are we being lobbied by these
1:15:27
pro communist China groups currently?
1:15:31
Well, a lot of these countries don't even have to lobby because
1:15:33
they get the money anyway, like South Africa.
1:15:36
Yeah, and in fact, these lobbyists have come to the House
1:15:39
and they've tried to kill legislation like HR 160, which
1:15:42
was meant to increase transparency in USAID's funding
1:15:46
of overseas organizations. Got a current piece of
1:15:47
legislation that's from the last session last, And give me that
1:15:50
number again, HR 160. And what does it do?
1:15:53
It was meant to give US lawmakers the ability to have
1:15:57
higher transparency and terror financing investigations aimed
1:16:00
at scrutinizing extremist groups.
1:16:02
Mr. Premierck. We had a regulation before we
1:16:06
left in the last administration that anybody who touches money
1:16:09
in the area, in countries where there's terrorists, those names
1:16:11
have to go through databases, terrorist databases.
1:16:14
That was overturned by Biden. Overturned by Biden chair lady.
1:16:18
I am currently 5 seconds but I wanted to mention something.
1:16:22
There's a lot of rhetoric used on this committee and I would
1:16:26
urge my friends on both sides of the aisle, let's stick to the
1:16:30
actual information. This rhetoric is.
1:16:34
I've received death threats and I know the chair lady has, and
1:16:38
it needs to stop. We need to tone it down.
1:16:40
Thank you, Chair lady, and thank you.
1:16:44
Thank. Thank you, Mr. Burchett.
1:16:45
Madam Chairwoman, I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to
1:16:48
enter a few items into the record relating to the waivers
1:16:52
that have been provided by the Secretary.
1:16:56
And because Mr. Burchett just went, now there is some
1:16:59
reporting and perhaps he's in the room if he'd like to
1:17:02
respond. Madam Chair, in this reporting
1:17:06
it says that Representative Burchett told a reporter that he
1:17:10
has a real problem with a report that two DOGE employees blocked
1:17:14
for funding that should have been granted a waiver by the
1:17:17
Secretary and said that if it was a mistake they should have
1:17:20
been fired. We also have a numerous reports
1:17:24
here that these waivers may exist, but they are not being
1:17:28
enforced and there are thousands of federal aid workers across
1:17:31
the world right now that are stranded as well as
1:17:35
international aid that is sitting in ports and docks.
1:17:38
If you have the documentation without objection, I'm.
1:17:41
Not sure if my name was besmirched.
1:17:42
Could I Did my letter respond or not?
1:17:44
It's fine either way, no? No, it's it's just a report.
1:17:47
I'm not OK. I, I just.
1:17:48
But anybody that works for the president, that goes against
1:17:51
what he says, he has a right to fire them.
1:17:53
So thank you. Absolutely.
1:17:56
I now recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Kassar, for 5
1:18:00
minutes. I'm going to do something that
1:18:05
I've never done in a congressional hearing before,
1:18:09
and that is plead for help from the American people, plead for
1:18:15
help from my Republican colleagues on something that we
1:18:20
actually all agree on because lives are at stake right now.
1:18:26
I'm going to start by describing the facts on the ground.
1:18:30
Millions of people are at risk of dying of starvation in areas
1:18:35
of the world where Democrats and Republicans have already agreed
1:18:41
and committed to feeding them with American grown food for
1:18:45
humanitarian reasons and for global stability.
1:18:49
But yesterday I spoke with people in charge of warehouses
1:18:53
in Sudan and Ethiopia, warehouses full of food.
1:18:58
But because of Doge, that food is trapped in the warehouse out
1:19:03
of reach of starving and dying moms and kids.
1:19:08
In those two countries alone, 150 thousand children and moms
1:19:14
are at risk of dying this month if that food is not delivered
1:19:18
from the warehouse to them right up the road.
1:19:22
Everyone agrees that's not supposed to happen.
1:19:25
Republicans voted for this food and Democrats voted for this
1:19:28
food to get out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
1:19:31
says the food should go out as part of his life saving waiver.
1:19:35
DOGE Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Green started this hearing by
1:19:39
saying that life saving food programs should still be
1:19:41
running. We have paid for the food and we
1:19:44
have shipped it and it is sitting trapped in the warehouse
1:19:48
because DOGE is blocking the payments needed to get the food
1:19:52
out to the people who need it. So here's what that means.
1:19:57
It means that kids are dying and more will die tomorrow of severe
1:20:02
acute malnutrition. If you want nightmares just
1:20:07
Google severe acute malnutrition and look at the photos.
1:20:11
The way that healthcare workers determine if a kid is dying of
1:20:15
this is they measure their bicep and if their bicep is less than
1:20:20
4 1/2 inches around then that means you could die of
1:20:25
starvation tomorrow. Think of a kid's arm fitting
1:20:31
through this hole. Think of your kids arm fitting
1:20:35
through this hole. These kids could die tomorrow.
1:20:39
You've heard today about the waiver for life saving
1:20:42
humanitarian assistance and all I'm asking is for Rubio's waiver
1:20:47
to be made real. People watching at home, you can
1:20:51
do something about this. I know many of these hearings
1:20:53
are live on Fox News. I'm a Democrat for many of the
1:20:57
people watching. You may not agree with me on
1:20:59
many issues, but I think we can all agree that this food needs
1:21:03
to get out of the warehouse into these kids.
1:21:05
I've gotten phone calls from conservative friends, people of
1:21:09
faith that moved to Africa to live out their faith of I was
1:21:14
naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me.
1:21:16
And they agree that this food should be given out.
1:21:20
So call your Republican congressperson, call the White
1:21:23
House, tell them you know they didn't mean to do this, that
1:21:26
this food needs to go out tomorrow.
1:21:28
If you're in the press, cover this story.
1:21:31
Ask questions about Ethiopia, ask questions about Sudan.
1:21:35
Tell the world about this. And to my Republican colleagues,
1:21:40
Doge is not going to listen to me, but you can fix this.
1:21:44
Pick up the phone, make a phone call.
1:21:48
Y'all could save lives today. Send an e-mail.
1:21:52
Please. Put politics aside.
1:21:55
Get the food out of the warehouse.
1:21:57
Save these kids life. You can save these kids lives.
1:22:04
With that I yield back. The gentleman yields without
1:22:08
objection and I'm entering for the record a post from the World
1:22:12
Food Program that states we can confirm that the recent pause
1:22:17
concerning in kind food assistance to WFP purchased from
1:22:22
US farmers with Title 2 funds has been rescinded.
1:22:25
This allows for the resumption of food purchases and deliveries
1:22:29
under existing USAID agreements. It also enables WFP to continue
1:22:34
working with our NGO partners who play a vital role in
1:22:37
distributing emergency food assistance to people affected by
1:22:41
war, floods, droughts and other disasters around the world.
1:22:44
WFP continues to work closely with the US counterparts and all
1:22:49
our donors to ensure consistent, uninterrupted emergency food
1:22:54
assistance to hunger hotspots that span Sudan, then South
1:22:58
Sudan, Gaza, Haiti, and other crisis areas.
1:23:04
I now recognize the gentleman Where's my W?
1:23:09
Now recognize the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Burleson, for 5
1:23:12
minutes. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and
1:23:15
good morning to our witnesses. I want to talk a little bit
1:23:18
about the difference between real charity and fake charity or
1:23:22
phony charity. Real charity is an individual
1:23:26
seeing a need, feeling the love in their heart, the compassion
1:23:29
for their fellow man, digging money out of their own pocket
1:23:33
and giving it to the people in need.
1:23:36
Government charity, fake charity is taking from somebody else and
1:23:41
giving it to whoever you think that you want to give it to.
1:23:45
Let's call this this USA program for what it actually is.
1:23:49
It is a disgraceful betrayal of the American taxpayer.
1:23:54
It it's all under the guise of being charity.
1:23:57
But for years the Democrats have turned USAID into their personal
1:24:01
slush fund, funneling billions of our hard earned tax dollars
1:24:06
into a cesspool of left wing propaganda, all masquerading
1:24:10
under the guise of charitable aid.
1:24:13
And what did we get for it? Not stronger allies, not safer
1:24:17
borders, and hardly a dime's worth for the American interest.
1:24:22
No, we got absurdity for it. Taxpayer cash bankrolling
1:24:26
climate activism DEI that are frequently at odds with the
1:24:31
values and the needs of the countries that we're supposedly
1:24:35
aiding. This isn't aid.
1:24:38
It's a shakedown of our taxpayers courtesy of the left
1:24:41
wing bureaucracy working with dark money networks that Mister
1:24:45
O'Neill described so eloquently earlier.
1:24:48
Now I have a question for Mr. Roman.
1:24:53
As Doge has recently brought to the forefront, USAID has often
1:24:56
used American tax dollars to push leftist ideology abroad.
1:25:00
One of these areas is exporting radical renewable energy agenda,
1:25:05
which I believe is not only not in the best interest of the US,
1:25:08
but it's also detrimental to the very countries that the aid is
1:25:12
supposed to be helping, subsidized by anti competitive
1:25:16
energy policy. Can you, can you touch on the
1:25:19
impact that this, this, this policy has?
1:25:24
Without being a meteorologist or climatologist or a geologist, I
1:25:27
can't necessarily speak about energy, but I can speak more
1:25:29
largely about the sponsorship of agendas, which are anathema to
1:25:33
American interests abroad. Specifically, in the report that
1:25:37
we published about 3 weeks ago, we were finding that there were
1:25:40
special interests who would come to USAID contract officers.
1:25:44
They would make recommendations and it was basically the
1:25:47
granting, like a political commissar in the Soviet Union
1:25:49
would do to his favorite unit rather than looking at what was
1:25:52
actually good for the United States.
1:25:55
Thank you, Mr. Pimarak. It was once quoted by Samantha
1:26:00
Power. She declared that USAID is a
1:26:03
climate agency. And so DOGE recently cancelled
1:26:08
10 climate and clean energy programs, including a nearly $85
1:26:11
million award aimed at increasing, you know, clean
1:26:16
energy in Africa. Also a $18.7 million program to
1:26:23
for the electric vehicles to be adopted in Nepal is.
1:26:28
My question to you is, is USAID a climate agency?
1:26:33
They wasted a lot of money on it.
1:26:35
I can't think of any other agenda that has caused as much
1:26:38
poverty and hunger as the climate agenda.
1:26:41
For example, the higher energy cost hits the poor the hardest.
1:26:44
For poor farmers in Africa that have to rely on natural gas
1:26:47
based fertilizers, it became too expensive so crop yields just
1:26:51
plummeted. And these countries at the same
1:26:53
time were prevented from developing their own fossil fuel
1:26:56
industries in which they could generate the income to finance
1:26:59
their own social services. Thank you to my last question
1:27:05
has to do with the promotion of values outside of, you know, the
1:27:08
outside of the really the the values of the United States and
1:27:11
Western culture. As as a member of Congress, I've
1:27:14
had diplomats from other countries come meet with me in
1:27:17
my office and beg us to stop using the aid that we're sending
1:27:22
to their country as a leverage point to force them into doing
1:27:26
things that their country finds their countries find abhorrent.
1:27:31
One of those is the promotion of abortion.
1:27:34
It's which is USAID is being used to push ideologies,
1:27:38
including abortion ideology across the globe.
1:27:41
In fact, during the Biden administration, one of his first
1:27:44
actions was to sign a memorandum reinstituting the foreign aid to
1:27:48
abortion programs. But but Mr. O'Neill, that that
1:27:53
jeopardized the same funding that was supposed to be helping
1:27:56
people with AIDS. Yeah.
1:27:59
We've seen throughout the Biden administration the impact of
1:28:03
these far left organizations propped up by the left Stark
1:28:06
Money Network pushing a host of causes, particularly on
1:28:10
abortion. I have a big chapter talking
1:28:13
about the prosecution of pro-life protesters.
1:28:16
Thank you. I yield back.
1:28:20
I now recognize the gentlelady from Texas, Miss Crockett for 5
1:28:23
minutes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
1:28:26
I just want to see if we can level set because I don't know
1:28:28
if people truly understand the point of USAID.
1:28:32
First of all, can I just ask you really quickly, each of you, yes
1:28:35
or no, do you believe that soft power matters?
1:28:39
Yes or no, Mr. Unger? Yes.
1:28:42
Yes. Yes, absolutely.
1:28:45
OK, so for the American people, because I don't know that
1:28:48
there's been a conversation about S power, but S power is
1:28:52
basically our way of building, building diplomacy around the
1:28:56
world. And so how we build that
1:28:58
diplomacy probably looks different in every different
1:29:01
administration. But the issue that I have right
1:29:04
now is that some would argue that we've taken a butcher knife
1:29:07
where we need a scalpel or others would just say that we
1:29:10
are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
1:29:12
But either way, we are not accomplishing our goal because
1:29:16
as it's been laid out, we have people that have gone hungry, we
1:29:19
have people that have died. So let me try to make sure that
1:29:23
people understand what it is that soft power is, which is
1:29:27
building diplomacy. The next part of that that I
1:29:30
want you to understand, those of you that are watching is that as
1:29:34
members of Congress, we do have congressional oversight.
1:29:36
To the extent that we actually travel the world, we go, we sit
1:29:39
down with world leaders. We talked to them about the
1:29:42
programs that we have. We talked to them about trade.
1:29:44
We also have an opportunity to go and visit and talk and see
1:29:49
exactly how our dollars are being spent.
1:29:50
And if you are a good member of Congress, you do that.
1:29:52
And I do want to tell you about an experience in Africa, but I
1:29:55
got to get through these other remarks.
1:29:56
So if I have a chance, I'm going to tell you why I believe in
1:29:59
this with my whole heart. We all know that my Republican
1:30:03
colleagues have a weird fetish with dictators or wannabe
1:30:06
dictators, so it should not come as a surprise that they're here
1:30:10
attacking global democracy programs.
1:30:12
For six decades, USAID has been vital in reducing global poverty
1:30:16
and hunger, helping to resolve health threats like the Ebola
1:30:20
outbreak, which reached Dallas, where I represent in 2014.
1:30:24
Encountering regional threats from Russia and China not only
1:30:28
is pro Putin President Trump threatening economic warfare
1:30:32
against our closest allies and partners.
1:30:35
He's blaming Ukraine for Russia's invasion, threatening
1:30:38
military force against Greenland and starting tariff wars with
1:30:41
Canada and Mexico. He's also defying a court order
1:30:44
to release billions of dollars in US foreign aid.
1:30:47
This committee should be providing oversight of the
1:30:50
executive branch's illegal impoundment of federal funds.
1:30:53
But we're here today so the chairwoman can peddle new
1:30:57
conspiracy theories about US foreign aid.
1:30:59
The dismantling of USAID is just another part of the Republicans
1:31:04
chaotic foreign policy and pro dictator agenda.
1:31:07
Republicans are turning back, turning their backs on American
1:31:11
farmers who provide nearly half of USAID's global food.
1:31:15
Assistance. I'm a stop here really quickly.
1:31:17
Because I think what happens is that when the American people
1:31:20
here that we're sending out money, they believe that we're
1:31:22
just dropping bags of money places.
1:31:23
And that's not what we do. But let me tell you, China does.
1:31:26
China does. Because I've sat down and I've
1:31:28
talked to people and one of the reasons that we are behind China
1:31:31
is because they have argued that there is no red tape.
1:31:35
And China is like gangsters. Like think about the biggest,
1:31:39
baddest guy offering you money when you want it, like a loan
1:31:43
shark, right? And then when they come back to
1:31:45
get their money, they want your first born, your second born and
1:31:48
everybody else. That is who China is.
1:31:50
But a lot of people that are desperate for money, they go for
1:31:52
that because in America, we're going to say no, no, no.
1:31:55
We're going to take care of our farmers.
1:31:56
We're going to make sure that our farmers are the ones that
1:31:58
are giving you the food. We're going to make sure that if
1:32:00
you want arms, those arms are going to come from us.
1:32:04
So I want people to understand we don't just go with black bags
1:32:08
and drop off bags of money like that.
1:32:09
It's not that simple, but I want to get to a couple of questions
1:32:14
because I know I'm running out of time.
1:32:15
Mr. Unger, the chairwoman, stated that, quote, the federal
1:32:18
government has been sitting billions after billions of
1:32:21
dollars to push left wing ideology, fund radical extremist
1:32:25
groups and usurp the will of the people abroad and here at home.
1:32:28
It's saving 20 million lives through the President's
1:32:31
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, part of some left
1:32:35
wing ideology. Yes or no?
1:32:38
No, in fact, PEPFAR was created by by Republicans.
1:32:43
It was created by Republicans. Thank you for that, that fact.
1:32:46
In fact, it was a Bush, a Texan. What about eradicating polio in
1:32:51
nearly every country and cutting malaria deaths in half?
1:32:54
No. OK, so here's here's the other
1:32:57
thing and I don't know if anybody knows the answer to this
1:32:59
question. We have been talking about USAID
1:33:02
and trying to pretend like it's the devil.
1:33:04
But when we look at the numbers, is it 50% of our budget that
1:33:09
goes to USAID, Mr. Unger? Yes, the money that goes to AID
1:33:14
is less than one cent if all of the federal budget is $1.00.
1:33:18
Thank you. It is less than 1% of our
1:33:20
budget. So we are.
1:33:21
Focusing on less than 1% instead of the other 99%.
1:33:25
I need the American people to wake up and recognize and start
1:33:27
asking questions about these other areas such.
1:33:30
As the gentlelady's time has expired, I now recognize the
1:33:33
gentleman from Georgia, Mister Jack, for 5 minutes.
1:33:38
I wanted to ask for unanimous consent to enter an article into
1:33:41
the Record from this morning. It is an article from the
1:33:45
Washington Post this morning titled Judge orders Trump
1:33:48
Administration to Pay Millions in USAID Funds.
1:33:51
That the UN World Food Program is owed more than $820 million
1:33:55
in funds from just this morning. Without objection.
1:33:58
So ordered Mister Jack. Well, thank you, Madam
1:34:01
Chairwoman, and I want to commend you for holding
1:34:05
hearings, trying to ensure that the taxpayer dollars is held
1:34:08
accountable. Our last hearing, I just want to
1:34:10
note for the record, we discussed the $2.7 trillion over
1:34:14
the last 20 years that has been distributed through improper
1:34:18
payments and wasted taxpayer dollars wasted over the last 20
1:34:22
years, 2.7 trillion. And one of the things I want to
1:34:24
talk about today are some of the general waste, fraud and abuse
1:34:27
we've seen within the USAID program.
1:34:29
So if I could start with Mr. Primrak, what was USAI DS
1:34:34
original mission and mandate and how is the agency strayed from
1:34:37
those initial priorities from your perspective?
1:34:41
It was started in 1960s to combat Soviet imperialism,
1:34:45
communist imperialism and it did a good job.
1:34:47
It responded to a lot of of natural disasters, did a good
1:34:51
job, helped to integrate former Warsaw Pact countries as as
1:34:55
allies in the United States, did a good job during the Clinton
1:34:58
administration, but especially afterwards in the Obama
1:35:01
administration. And it went full, full scale
1:35:04
under the Biden administration started pushing so a social
1:35:07
reengineering agenda. And if I can speak to that for a
1:35:09
moment, what would you say are the main deficiencies and USAID
1:35:13
is vetting an oversight process that has led to this waste,
1:35:16
fraud and abuse? It's an an aid industrial
1:35:19
conflicts that refuses to have accountability and oversight.
1:35:23
And Mr. Roman, if I could ask you just to expand upon that.
1:35:26
Sure. I'll give you an example of the
1:35:27
Together project in civic space. Islamist organizations which
1:35:31
work with designated terror organizations, different Middle
1:35:34
Eastern countries and territories came under attack by
1:35:36
our organization, the Middle East Forum back in 2017.
1:35:39
They put together a lobby which acted as an umbrella to go to
1:35:42
Congress to say, ignore that organization that's exposing
1:35:45
public data about money going to radical organizations.
1:35:48
They're so-called, quote UN quote, Islamophobic.
1:35:51
So by using politically charged language, they try to cover up
1:35:54
their associations with terror organizations.
1:35:57
Then they went back to USCID, said, look, Congress is going to
1:36:00
fund us now because we lobbied for successful bills and they
1:36:03
got more money. And what steps would you say,
1:36:07
Mr. Roman, are needed to be taken to ensure grant recipients
1:36:10
follow the rules and cooperate with the policies in place?
1:36:13
I think there's a gap in vetting and enforcement, allowing funds
1:36:17
to move both directly and indirectly to extremist link
1:36:19
groups. You have to have a pipeline
1:36:21
where all the money that's coming out of U.S. government
1:36:23
coffers is traceable exactly to which organization and sub
1:36:27
grantee it goes to. And then once if you have $1.00
1:36:30
touch one individual, that individual or that organization
1:36:33
has to report back to be compared against US vetting
1:36:36
databases before a check is cut to them.
1:36:38
And if I could ask the same question to you, Mr. Prime Rack,
1:36:41
what are some steps we could take to ensure the grant
1:36:43
recipients don't evade some of the requirements needed?
1:36:47
I think we need, we need to have a consolidated website where
1:36:50
every single award and sub award is on there.
1:36:52
We're not only members of Congress can look at it, but the
1:36:55
American people who fund this can go through it.
1:36:57
And that's the kind of transparency and accountability
1:37:00
that's going to force folks to be careful what they do.
1:37:03
And if I can just ask, we'll go back to Mr. Roman.
1:37:05
I really appreciate that example.
1:37:07
With what time I have left, could you offer any other
1:37:10
examples of, of mechanisms by which entities evaded
1:37:15
transparency requirements, something that you know, we all
1:37:17
talk about and we've all seen the egregious spending across
1:37:20
the board that's been illuminated by many members of
1:37:22
this committee over the last two weeks.
1:37:23
But when it comes to evading some of these requirements, I
1:37:26
want to speak directly to that and enter that at the record.
1:37:28
To the extent you could share, there's a bifurcation of the
1:37:30
problem. One is the organizations which
1:37:32
are abusing US taxpayer dollars, but the second is the
1:37:35
bureaucrats who are allowing them to get away with it,
1:37:37
sometimes because they're not looking and being blind to the
1:37:39
issue, other times because they're intentionally pursuing
1:37:42
an ideological agenda that Congress didn't appropriate or
1:37:44
authorized. You have to direct funding to
1:37:47
have individuals that are getting money to be able to
1:37:50
authorize that money. And the reports on the grants
1:37:52
that they make after the funding period is over should also be
1:37:56
publicly available rather than just how much money was spent.
1:37:59
In addition to that, there is many other individuals and
1:38:02
partnerships that go beyond USAID, For instance, foundations
1:38:06
supporting extremists, persistent lapses in sanctions
1:38:09
enforcement, and also potential violations of US criminal
1:38:13
statutes. The report that we put out
1:38:15
suggests that funding streams may have contravened laws
1:38:18
prohibiting material support to terrorism, sanctions,
1:38:21
violations, fraud, and false statements, both by the grantees
1:38:25
and some of the grantors. Well, I appreciate the testimony
1:38:29
from both of you all today and for all witnesses for appearing
1:38:31
before the committee. Ultimately, I think what the the
1:38:34
chairwoman's been trying to do through these hearings is try to
1:38:36
ensure that American taxpayer dollars are protected and used
1:38:39
to the betterment of American citizens and our interests here
1:38:42
in our country, and they're not wasted.
1:38:44
And if I can just spend, Madam Chairwoman, the last 20 seconds
1:38:47
of my test or my my questioning today, a noting that we in our
1:38:51
committee should have a decorum. And the other side after our
1:38:55
last committee hearing, which should have been a bipartisan
1:38:57
issue, talking about waste, fraud and abuse within
1:38:59
government programs going out the door.
1:39:01
Shortly after that hearing, one of our committee members called
1:39:05
for real weapons to be brought to this political debate.
1:39:08
And I think that's atrocious. I think that's egregious.
1:39:10
And I would just like to note and I would just like to note, I
1:39:14
will reclaim my time. But I just like to note, Madam
1:39:16
Fair woman, that I think. You're not recognized, Miss
1:39:18
Stansbury. You're not recognized.
1:39:20
Time. You're spreading lies.
1:39:21
You're not recognized, Miss Stansbury.
1:39:24
So I. Will just.
1:39:25
I will just close by saying we should have more decorum in this
1:39:28
and expected, especially from the American taxpayers.
1:39:31
We're paying our salaries to be here.
1:39:33
Thank you. Thank you.
1:39:34
And I, I do want to agree with that.
1:39:37
There was a member of this committee that went on CNN and
1:39:39
said it's time for actual weapons to be used.
1:39:43
That is documented. It's on video and and we will
1:39:45
not tolerate that type of language and calls for violence
1:39:49
on this committee. I now recognize the gentleman
1:39:53
from Texas, Mr. Gill for 5 minutes.
1:39:56
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and, and thank you so much for
1:39:59
holding this hearing today. We've heard throughout this
1:40:03
hearing a bit more of the same shrill calumny against President
1:40:08
Trump and Elon Musk that we've been hearing for months now.
1:40:12
But I am happy that a few of our colleagues did concede that we
1:40:15
need more oversight and auditing of our foreign aid.
1:40:20
I'd like to remind them that every time Republicans try to do
1:40:23
that and audit where government money is going, they try to
1:40:27
Stonewall us. So I hope that they will get on
1:40:30
board with protecting the American taxpayer.
1:40:33
I think as as it relates to foreign aid, to the extent that
1:40:37
we do engage in foreign aid, it of course should advance
1:40:41
American strategic geopolitical interests are commercial
1:40:45
interests and of course should help ameliorate major
1:40:49
humanitarian crises. But it ought to be rooted in in
1:40:53
realism, which is a a recognition that we have
1:40:56
strategic interests abroad that we ought to advance And and it
1:41:00
it not to be rooted in a rational conception of the way
1:41:05
the world actually is and not the way the some, you know,
1:41:10
leftist secular bureaucrat at USIAID believes the world should
1:41:15
be. I think that forcing
1:41:17
transgenderism and novel sexual fetishes on more traditional
1:41:22
cultures does not advance American interests.
1:41:25
It alienates the United States on the world stage.
1:41:30
We've also seen USAID money going to.
1:41:34
Oppose many of our allies abroad.
1:41:37
Madam Chair gave a few examples and and I'll give a few more
1:41:40
here. We've seen USAID money funding
1:41:45
efforts to influence elections in India against Prime Minister
1:41:49
Modi. We've seen our our ally,
1:41:52
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accusing USAID of funding
1:41:58
left wing media outlets that are opposing him.
1:42:02
We've seen USAID give $12.5 million just last year to the
1:42:07
American Near East Refugee Agency, whose staff openly
1:42:12
called for violence against Jews.
1:42:15
The refugee agency also funded projects of the Unlimited
1:42:19
Friends Association, which is a proxy organization for Hamas.
1:42:25
This is not advancing our strategic interests abroad, and
1:42:29
these are not promoting American values.
1:42:32
Mr. Unger, I, I, I've got a couple questions for you.
1:42:35
You've mentioned USAID is, is representing American ideas in
1:42:40
action, Is that right? Yes.
1:42:42
Do you believe that spending over $3,000,000 for being LGBTQ
1:42:48
in the Caribbean is a reflection of a American ideas in action?
1:42:53
I believe that the programs that are focused on global health.
1:42:56
Yes or no is fine the. Programs that in global health
1:43:00
and food security and economic growth, no.
1:43:02
Absolutely. I'm not.
1:43:03
I'm talking about being LGBTQ in the Caribbean.
1:43:06
Is that a reflection of American values, Yes or no?
1:43:08
I believe the programs that you're referring to are a
1:43:11
reflection of. I'll take that as a yes.
1:43:14
What about spending $70,000 for the production of ADEI Musical
1:43:20
in Ireland? Is that a reflection of American
1:43:22
ideas in action, Yes or no? Yes, yes, OK, great.
1:43:29
Do you think that spending $2,000,000 for sex changes and
1:43:34
LGBTQ activism in Guatemala is a reflection of American values?
1:43:39
The information that you are using is so faulty that it
1:43:42
doesn't. It's it's a yes.
1:43:43
Or no project. No, that, that is a direct
1:43:47
description of what we're spending our tax dollars.
1:43:49
Do you think that? Sex changes and LGBTQ activism
1:43:53
in Guatemala, is that coming? Is an.
1:43:55
Accurate reflection of American values abroad.
1:43:58
Is that? A yes or no question is, is that
1:44:01
a yes or is that a yes or a no? What I want to?
1:44:03
Understand is this is a yes. Or no question, because they
1:44:06
counted the same. You're not filibuster reclaiming
1:44:11
my time here. We'll go to another one.
1:44:14
How about one and a half, $1,000,000 to promote job
1:44:18
opportunities for LGBTQ individuals in Serbia?
1:44:22
Is that a reflection of American values?
1:44:24
Providing job opportunities for allies around the world is
1:44:27
absolutely in the interest of the American people.
1:44:30
Well, I, I would like to maybe challenge you if you, if you
1:44:33
really believe in promoting DEI. I've got about 20 seconds left
1:44:36
then in in giving jobs to somebody based on their minority
1:44:42
status or the color of their skin or their sexual
1:44:44
proclivities, you might want to consider stepping down from your
1:44:47
job and giving it to somebody who has more minority.
1:44:51
Points than you do. Well, if that were what DEI is
1:44:53
about, maybe I would. But it's not what it's about.
1:44:57
I now recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Fallon, for 5
1:45:01
minutes. Thank you, Madam Chair, and my
1:45:03
colleague from. Texas did a very good job.
1:45:06
You know, look, the sky is falling.
1:45:08
We hear it now, and not just in the DODE subcommittee, but we
1:45:12
hear it in oversight from our friends across the aisle.
1:45:14
The Sky's falling. The world's going to end.
1:45:16
People are going to die. And.
1:45:18
Then. When they say Elon Musk's name,
1:45:19
it's never Elon Musk. It's Elon Musk reckless gutting
1:45:24
of the federal workforce in this hyperbolic fear mongering is
1:45:30
brought to you by the American left and and you why at the I
1:45:35
ask and and so many others these the doge committee Dems are
1:45:41
using this quite frankly, sloppy, lazy, wildly inaccurate
1:45:48
and really boring rhetoric because this administration and
1:45:54
this president is finally acting boldly because so many
1:45:57
administrations in the past have it.
1:45:59
They're acting boldly and courageously to ensure wait for
1:46:03
it that the American taxpayers dollars fund federal workers
1:46:09
that work. I know that may be a radical
1:46:13
concept to some. Now let's set the record
1:46:16
straight as well. Secretary Rubio has made it sure
1:46:19
he'd issued a blanket waiver for any life saving aid.
1:46:22
I think it's $72 billion that we're spending.
1:46:25
Is USA the perfect vehicle for this aid?
1:46:29
Of course not. We found that it isn't.
1:46:32
And we also recognize that China has that Belt Rd. initiative and
1:46:36
they're licking their chops. And if we took that 72 billion
1:46:38
out, they're going to fill that vacuum.
1:46:41
So that's just hyperbolic nonsense that we do not
1:46:44
recognize that there's a role to play for the United States in
1:46:48
the federal aid space. But what we want to expose is
1:46:53
$164 million going to radical organizations, 122 million of it
1:46:59
to organizations that have aligned or at least tied to
1:47:03
terrorists. So, Mr. Premarack, putting aside
1:47:07
the massive issues of handing money over to terrorists and
1:47:10
such, can you speak to other ways that our foreign aid has
1:47:14
actually hurt United States efforts and interests to counter
1:47:19
the malign influences, let's say, of the Chinese Communist
1:47:22
Party? RA has created an international
1:47:26
aid dependency. It's become international
1:47:28
welfare. We need to put the terms on
1:47:31
these programs. The whole point of this is to
1:47:33
help strengthen countries to economically, politically, and
1:47:37
become strong allies. We don't do that when we
1:47:41
celebrate 30-40, fifty years in a place that means we are
1:47:44
failing. The point of our jobs is to work
1:47:47
ourselves out of a job. If we do that, if we focus more
1:47:50
on trade, if we focus more on investment, we're going to
1:47:53
create the kind of allies in the developing world that'll make us
1:47:56
stronger in combating the the China challenge.
1:47:59
So you're talking about self-sufficiency.
1:48:01
It sounds like you're talking about taking a developing nation
1:48:04
to help them develop and that's what they want.
1:48:07
What one of the countries that come to mind, for instance, that
1:48:10
had a successful journey over the last six years is like a
1:48:12
Singapore. They don't need finance, foreign
1:48:14
financial aid for the United States.
1:48:16
They're a wealthy city state now, are they not?
1:48:18
Yeah. Countries like South South
1:48:20
Korea, Taiwan and Taiwan and other benefited.
1:48:23
Look at them now. Wild successes.
1:48:25
OK, so also Miss Prank, while I got you, do you know of if USAID
1:48:31
sent any funding toward lab research in Wuhan, China?
1:48:36
Just what I've seen in the in the in the newspapers.
1:48:38
Yeah, I clearly we shouldn't be sending R4A to China when
1:48:42
they're our greatest adversary. Mr. Hunger, thank you for being
1:48:47
here. Just to follow up on some of the
1:48:49
things that Mister Gill was asking you, 2 million that and
1:48:55
this is a, this is a source, this is from the federal award
1:48:57
identification number. So this clearly happened on the
1:49:01
US spending.gov website, $2,000,000 to quote active
1:49:07
activity to strengthen trans LED organizations to deliver
1:49:11
transgender surgeries. Do you think that's a good use
1:49:14
of taxpayer money? I defer to Congress, Sir.
1:49:17
If Congress appropriated the money notified about the
1:49:20
program, I believe it's in the interest of the American.
1:49:22
I think it's a good use of taxpayer money.
1:49:25
I believe it's a good use of taxpayer money for Congress.
1:49:27
That is very telling. Thank you.
1:49:28
I yield back to the chair. Thank you.
1:49:33
Thank you. In closing, I want to thank our
1:49:38
witnesses once again for their testimony today.
1:49:41
And Chairman Comer was going to be here but got tied up.
1:49:44
I now yield to the Ranking Member Stansbury for closing
1:49:47
remarks. All right, Well, thank you,
1:49:50
Madam Chairwoman. It's always a wild adventure
1:49:53
here in the Oversight Committee. And as the language was just
1:49:56
used, wild and sloppy is not what's happening in this
1:49:59
committee, but what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to
1:50:03
our foreign affairs and foreign aid.
1:50:05
And in fact, if my friends across the aisle would like to
1:50:08
understand the real world impacts of the 10s of thousands
1:50:12
of Americans who've been laid off and the people who are
1:50:14
suffering around the world, go home and talk to your own
1:50:16
constituents. Because we know they're coming
1:50:19
to your town halls. And we know that behind closed
1:50:21
doors you are calling the president and you are calling
1:50:24
secretaries and telling them that your constituents are upset
1:50:27
and that you don't support what they're doing.
1:50:29
So I do not appreciate you all sitting here pretending like
1:50:33
this is not what you support. Okay, so let's talk a little bit
1:50:39
about the gutting of foreign aid and global realignment that's
1:50:41
happening under Trump. They're dismantling this agency.
1:50:44
They're withholding funds. They're firing 10s of thousands
1:50:47
of USAID staff. They're hacking federal data
1:50:50
systems. They're stranding aid workers
1:50:52
across the world. International food aid is
1:50:55
rotting in ports. American farmers has lost
1:50:59
millions of dollars in income and a global realignment with
1:51:03
our foreign adversaries, including Vladimir Putin, and is
1:51:06
happening at a scale unlike anything we have seen in
1:51:10
American history. And the administration knows
1:51:15
that these activities are illegal.
1:51:18
They know that they've overstepped their constitutional
1:51:20
authority. They know they're violating
1:51:22
statutory law. They know they're violating
1:51:24
appropriations law. They know that they're violating
1:51:27
federal employment laws. And they know that they are
1:51:31
reversing American foreign policy in a way that we have
1:51:36
never seen before. And Donald Trump and his allies
1:51:39
are trying to redefine the Constitution by tweet.
1:51:43
They're threatening federal judges, intimidating federal
1:51:46
employees, and yes, even members of Congress using the Department
1:51:50
of Justice. And why?
1:51:52
We don't know because not a single person from the
1:51:56
administration has come here to testify in this committee or in
1:51:59
any committee about what Doge and Elon Musk are actually
1:52:03
doing. And if you look at the so-called
1:52:06
transparency that Elon Musk put online, the math does not add
1:52:12
up. Talk about wild and sloppy.
1:52:15
Our friends across the aisle like to talk about how he's some
1:52:17
sort of genius, and this dude couldn't even post a simple
1:52:22
spreadsheet that adds up. It's literally off by 10s of
1:52:26
billions of dollars. You guys, That's wild.
1:52:30
I mean, like literally that's wild.
1:52:32
But in spite of this, our friends across the aisle are
1:52:35
acting like everything's normal. And yesterday, last night, they
1:52:39
passed a budget resolution that not only is going to gut
1:52:41
Medicaid and Medicare, but is going to make these cuts and
1:52:45
federal firing permanent, even though they know it is making
1:52:50
America less safe. And in the meantime, Elon Musk
1:52:55
is actually awarding himself additional federal contracts.
1:52:57
In fact, yesterday, it was reported that he gave himself
1:53:01
the FAA contract for communications.
1:53:05
I mean, you guys, this is like graft, waste, fraud, abuse, all
1:53:11
of the things, it's happening in front of your eyes, literally.
1:53:15
And they are breaking the law while they cozy up to our
1:53:19
foreign adversaries. And I know that Donald Trump
1:53:22
thinks that he's a king because of social media.
1:53:25
Of course, he keeps repeating this.
1:53:27
But let me say this to you, Mr. Trump, 250 years ago, the people
1:53:34
of this great nation rejected a reckless, abusive king, and we
1:53:41
won't go back. And for the thousands of federal
1:53:47
workers out there, the aid workers, the advocates, and the
1:53:50
people around the world who are impacted by these reckless and
1:53:55
heartless and harmful and disgusting cuts that are
1:54:01
impacting people across the world, know that we see you.
1:54:06
We stand with you. We are fighting for you.
1:54:09
We are in the courts, We are in Congress.
1:54:12
We are in our communities. And we will hold this
1:54:15
administration accountable and we will not abandon our allies
1:54:23
or our humanity. So with that, I say to all of
1:54:27
you, be strong. We will fight back.
1:54:32
I now recognize myself for closing remarks.
1:54:36
I now recognize myself for closing remarks.
1:54:39
And threats against the president of the United States
1:54:42
will not be tolerated by anyone. And the math does that up.
1:54:46
The United States is 36 trillion in debt, 36 trillion.
1:54:53
There's plenty of spreadsheets that show that.
1:54:55
As a matter of fact, there's a debt clock.
1:54:57
You can watch it continue to tick upwards every single day.
1:55:01
In fiscal year 2024, the government spent over 1.8
1:55:05
trillion more than it took in. And in fiscal year 2025, the
1:55:09
interest on our debt is expected to exceed $1 trillion.
1:55:14
That's everybody. I don't care how you vote, the
1:55:17
American people do not want to continue to fund these
1:55:21
propaganda campaigns, regime changes, terrorist LGBTQ
1:55:27
initiatives, diversity, equity and inclusion, and other
1:55:31
Democrat globalist initiatives. And even if the people did want
1:55:36
to continue supporting such causes, guess what?
1:55:40
They can support them with their own money through private
1:55:44
donations. Because the reality is,
1:55:46
everyone, we are flat out broke. If the US government operated
1:55:52
like any other private business, which it should by the way, it
1:55:56
would be completely bankrupt and it would be out of business.
1:56:01
Last year we spent almost $2 trillion more than we took in.
1:56:06
the United States government is not a charity, and it is not to
1:56:10
be used and abused by the bureaucracy to implement the far
1:56:14
left's agenda and impose it on the entire world.
1:56:18
Again, 96% of all political contributions from USAID
1:56:25
employees go to Democrat Party candidates or packs.
1:56:29
Perhaps that's why we're hearing all the complaining.
1:56:32
The revolving door between USAID employees and Ng OS that receive
1:56:37
USAID funding is undeniable. Maybe we should consider
1:56:42
investigating whether USAID funding has made it back to
1:56:47
Democrat campaigns. Has it affected elections?
1:56:52
The real questions the American people deserve to know answers
1:56:55
to are these Why are we funding 9 out of 10 news outlets in
1:57:00
Ukraine? Why was former USAID
1:57:04
Administrator Samantha Power visiting Hungary for the purpose
1:57:08
of strengthening democratic institutions when Hungary is a
1:57:12
country that is strongly democratic and members of the EU
1:57:17
and NATO? Why was USAID Co funding joint
1:57:21
programs with George Soros's Open Society to promote radical
1:57:25
social agendas throughout the developing world?
1:57:28
Why is USAID involved in the canceling of elections in
1:57:32
Romania? Why is USAID involved in funding
1:57:36
court changes in Albania that resulted in the prosecution of
1:57:40
the Albanian opposition leader? Why is USAID funding censorship
1:57:46
laws in Brazil to silence Bolsonaro?
1:57:50
Why is USAID funding involved in funding the Syrian civil war?
1:57:57
What we have learned here today is that USAID has been used as a
1:58:01
tool by Democrats to brainwash the world with globalist
1:58:05
propaganda to force regime changes around the world.
1:58:09
But if USAID funded terrorism that resulted in the death of
1:58:14
Americans, then this committee will be making criminal
1:58:18
referrals. Lastly, if this is the funding
1:58:23
that has come from the USAID, the United States Agency for
1:58:27
International Development needs to be abolished.
1:58:31
With that and without objection, all members have 5 legislative
1:58:35
days within which to submit materials and additional written
1:58:39
questions for the witnesses, which will be forwarded to the
1:58:42
witnesses if there is no further business.
1:58:45
Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
1:58:58
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