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▶ 0:08:11yeah ready when you are all righty this hearing of the subcommittee on delivering on government efficiency will come to order welcome everyone without objection the chair May declare a recess at any time I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement good morning I want to welcome everyone today to today's Doge subcommittee hearing on US foreign aid this hearing comes at an important
▶ 0:08:42time a time where all of us are witnessing billions of dollars in taxpayer waste Fraud and Abuse being exposed across every agency of our federal government it comes at a time where oversight of US foreign aid has uncovered billions of dollars that have been weaponized in furtherance of globalist far-left ideologies the American people want change the American people voted for change the American people have spoken
▶ 0:09:13that they no longer wish to be enslaved by the bureaucracy's agenda of undermining us interest abroad in 2023 alone Americans privately donated over 557 billion of Their Own money corporations donated over 37 billion foundations donated over 103 billion that is incredible incredible of the American people in 2023
▶ 0:09:43nearly 76 million Americans almost 30% of Americans formally volunteered through in an volunteered the government did not make them do that they did this on their own donating in volunteering time is what supports schools and shelters hospitals and hotlines food banks and AC and more across only our country not only our country but across the world ask anyone in Western
▶ 0:10:14North Carolina whether it be individuals churches or businesses the American people are the most generous people in the entire world and I'm so proud of that they should be the ones who decide where their money goes they can choose chose if they want to donate to a charity a school a church or a nonprofit they can choose if they want to privately donate to a transgender Salon in Mumbai they can choose if they want to privately donate to the British Broadcasting
▶ 0:10:44Corporation they can choose if they want to privately donate to the Wuhan Institute of virology through Ecco Health Alliance or to electric vehicles in Vietnam or to changing the national census in Bangladesh to be more gender inclusive that is something they should be able to choose that is something they should never be forced to do by our government the Democrat run us Aid should not get to use our federal government
▶ 0:11:15our US taxpayer dollars as their party piggy bank to push their radical agenda in countries that we have no business giving money to 96% of all political contributions for from usaid employees go to Democrat Party candidates or pxs that's 96% not only is usaid giving $70,000 for a Dei musical in Ireland or 50,000 for transgender
▶ 0:11:45Opera in Colombia or entrench to entrench their left-wing ideology across the globe usaid has been transformed into an America last foreign aid slush fund to prop up extremist Implement censorship campaigns and interfere in foreign elections to force regime change around the world that is the Dark Truth About usaid That is a story the American people deserve to know Not only
▶ 0:12:15was usaid never designed to be what it has morphed into but these things should never have been funded in the first place in fiscal year 2023 usid dispersed roughly 44 billion of Aid across 160 countries and regions around the world during the four years of the Biden Administration 181 countries received approximately 240 billion
▶ 0:12:45in US development Aid with Ukraine being the top recipient other top recipients include Ethiopia Jordan Israel and Somalia so after hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been distributed throughout the world has the world become safer no has the world become more stable no is the perception of the United States around the globe any better no but have some of the most anti-democratic
▶ 0:13:15principles like censorship and the cancelling of Elections been funded through usaid because of opposition to the ruling regimes yes has money through USA been funneled to yes foreign aid from usaid to the UN particularly the UN relief and works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the near East is directly
▶ 0:13:46funding Hamas terrorists humanitarian relief intended for the Afghan people was diverted to the Taliban money intended to support democracy is being used as a slush fund fund for Liberal propaganda supporting terrorist gender ideology diversity equity and inclusion climate activism censorship and regime change do you think this is what the American people think of when they think of foreign aid
▶ 0:14:17absolutely not taxpayer funds have literally been used to undermine us interest and counter American foreign policy goals under the guise of foreign aid this is unacceptable and the American people agree thankfully president Trump has taken action to address these issues the election of President Trump was a clear mandate by the American people that they will no longer tolerate this he is putting an end to the foreign aid slush fund ensuring
▶ 0:14:47the hardworking American taxpayers dollars are are supporting America First policies and taking care of our own people at home and we will do the same with that I now recognize ranking member Stansbury for the purpose of making an opening statement all right well good morning everyone and welcome to the Elon Musk Chainsaw Massacre except for this remake of a classic is terrible
▶ 0:15:18because it's hurting real people and its lead character Mr musk hasn't shown up in front of this committee or congress at all we also of course call this the sub committee on Doge or project 2025 as we'll see here during the Q&A so today in this hearing on forign a which the GOP has called You're going to hear all kinds of wild conspiracy theories accusations and unfounded data it's designed to confuse and provide
▶ 0:15:48cover for Donald Trump and Elon Musk in their Reckless gutting of our foreign aid and our reordering under the Trump administration of international affairs but but before we dive into the details I want to zoom out and provide some critical context here about why this is happening so first of all let's talk about what happened over the last two weeks as the administration took an Abrupt about face in
▶ 0:16:18international relations after 64 years of us Aid and supporting our allies in Europe turning its back on long-standing allies and and now suddenly embracing and enabling US adversaries let's do a little oversight here last week the administration shocked the world as the vice president took to the global stage and addressed European leaders and inform them that the Trump Administration believes that the greatest threat
▶ 0:16:48to Europe is not the autocratic leader who invaded our Western Ally three years ago and committed war crimes and atrocities against the Ukrainian people and threaten Western democracy but instead the VP said it was quote a threat from within he then snubbed our German allies and in a unprecedented move tacitly endorsed and then met with a farri candidate from the German Parliament who Elon
▶ 0:17:19Musk has spent months backing this is a party that is so extreme that even conservatives in Germany will not form a government with them then over the weekend Donald Trump went on a wild rant on social media embracing Vladimir Vladimir Putin and repeating Russian propaganda trying to rewrite history and falsely claim that Ukraine started a war against its own people then on Monday Trump had the United States of America
▶ 0:17:49vote against Russia vote uh vote with Russia North Korea and China as four of the only eight countries countes in the world voting in the UN against a resolution supporting Ukraine and affirming Ukraine's sovereignty when you think about what this means in the context of American History it's truly astonishing that same day which was only two days ago the administration announced that they would proceed
▶ 0:18:19with firing another 2,000 us Aid workers even as a Court ruled that the administration's dismantling of the aid organization is illegal and interestingly one of the main opponents of usaid programs is Donald Trump's buddy Vladimir Putin why because among the programs that the US was funding before the funding was Frozen was Aid to Ukraine including safe houses on the front lines a free and open press to help keep people informed
▶ 0:18:50what was happening in the war not to mention Refugee resettlement in the United States usaid was also engaged in democracy building and Eastern Europe and the Balkans especially with the fall of the USSR of course Mr Putin didn't like that either and these Investments have been totally decimated over the last several weeks over the last five years usaid has funded International Aid to 212 countries around the
▶ 0:19:20world to promote International Peace and security to help maintain stability and ensure that we are making good on American America's promises these Investments are a fraction of the cost of weapons and defense and the US in the process is able to help promote National Security stop Global pandemics prevent hunger and mass migrations and make the world and the United States a safer place so when we hear
▶ 0:19:50conservative allies of Donald Trump repeat wild and unfounded claims about International Aid and we see a coordinated attack by conservative media think tanks like those who are here today members of Congress the administration we have to ask oursel what is really going on here folks why the hell are they so hellbent on dismantling an organization that has been so vital to American interests and Western
▶ 0:20:21democracy for so long over the last several days they have fired thousands of federal employees it really does make you wonder doesn't it and by the way while they've been doing that China has actually moved in already to places in South Asia that had their funding cut and is beginning to replace American diplomacy and Aid in those places so as we listen to this hearing today and hear from
▶ 0:20:51our Witnesses which I look forward to I hope that we can get to the bottom of what is actually going on here today and with I look forward to hearing the testimony January 24th uh Secretary of State Marco Rubio uh gave an order that came with a waiver for emergency food assistance which was broadened even further several days later for life-saving services secretary Rubio has stated very clearly we have a blanket waiver and anybody who tells you
▶ 0:21:21they don't understand it let me repeat it in very simple words if it saves lives if it's emergency life-saving aid food medicine whatever they have a waiver I don't know how much clearer we can be and if we're not applying it then maybe we're not a very good organization and maybe they shouldn't be getting any money at all additionally in-kind food assistance purchased from us Farmers is continuing I'm pleased to introduce our Witnesses
▶ 0:21:51today Max primac is a senior research fellow at the Heritage foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for freedom he has more than 30 years of international work experience including as acting Chief Operating Officer at usid and as a US Aid contractor from 2018 to 2019 he was an Administration Envoy to Iraq overseeing a 400 million genocide recovery initiative to facilitate returns
▶ 0:22:21of Christians and other persecuted religious minorities Greg Roman is the executive director of middle Middle East Forum he is a frequent commentator about Middle East Affairs on both National and international news channels and studied National Security and political Communications at America American University and interdisciplinary Center in Herz Herz sorry Tyler O'Neal is senior editor at
▶ 0:22:51the daily signal and author of the wapus The Dark money cabal manipulating the federal government he is a writer and commentator on federal policy and has appeared on both local and national news outlets finally Noam uner is the director of sustainable development and resilience initiative at the center for strategic international studies and a senior fellow with the project on prosperity and development he has served at both us Aid and the US Department
▶ 0:23:21of State again I want to thank all of you for being here to testify today pursuant to committee rule 9g the witnesses will please stand and raise their right hand do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you were about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God let the record show that the witnesses answered in
▶ 0:23:51the affirmative thank you you may take a seat we appreciate you being here today and look forward to your testimony let me remind the witnesses that we will have read your written statement and it will appear in full in the hearing record please limit your oral statement to 5 minutes as a reminder please press the button on the microphone in front of you so that it is on and the members can hear you when you begin to speak the light in front
▶ 0:24:22of you will turn green after 4 minutes the light will turn yellow when the red light comes on your 5 minutes have expired and we would ask that you please wrap up I now recognize Max primac for his opening statement Madame chairman thank you for this opportunity to testify before this very subcommittee the views I express here today are my own over the past few weeks indeed we have been treated to daily Litany
▶ 0:24:52of examples of waste Fraud and Abuse of taxpayer funded foreign aid USA ID and the state department used foreign aid as a global platform to push radical and even obscene ideas that have shocked and angered the American people one cannot help but ask was there anyone in the room raising their hand to say this is not a good idea this might cost us our bipartisan support in Congress we might lose the trust of the American people yes
▶ 0:25:22foreign aid should be a tool to advance our national security interests in the past did today it does not frankly it has been doing harm while spending more on Aid there is more World poverty and hunger today more political instability and developing countries are more beholden to our adversaries at USA ID I co-chaired an inner agency working group that put all Aid projects through a counter China lens that was
▶ 0:25:53dismantled instead the Biden Administration wasted billions of dollars on a global green agenda that forced poor countries to rely on China for their energy needs these countries sought more trade with and investment from the United States to bind our countries closer together instead they got transgender diversity and abortion programs that have alienated billions of people despite what we hear in the
▶ 0:26:23media there is no linkage between How We Do Aid and our national Security South Africa has received billions of American Aid dollars yet is China's main Africa partner South Africa is the s in Brick bricks it supports Hamas and Iran and opposes us at every turn at the United Nations last summer mosambique and Tanzania other large Aid recipients conducted two we military exercises
▶ 0:26:53with the people's Liberation Army expanding communist China's power projection to the lip of our Atlantic Ocean 19 of the top 20 usid recipients are members of China's belt and Road initiative while acting Chief Operating Officer at usaid I approved strong vetting policies for our humanitarian assistance in countries swarming with terrorists the that too was ignored by the Biden Administration
▶ 0:27:24vast sums of us money have been diverted to fund terrorists in Gaza Syria Yemen and Afghanistan NOS have been hit with heavy fines for violating our anti-terrorism financing laws but closer scrutiny is warranted for the problem is endemic in the aid culture last year usid launched its $45 million Global Civil Society program based on the social theories of an Italian Marxist
▶ 0:27:55literally we have been funding radical noos around the world that oppose capitalism democracy NATO Christianity none of this is counter China this is counter America again a resounding yes that foreign aid can be a powerful tool of diplomacy to promote Freedom prosperity and peace in accordance with our national interest and our values but not as an instrument of progressive imperialism regardless of which party
▶ 0:28:25controls the executive branch a officials must ensure that every single foreign aid program can pass the Middle America smell test on waste Fraud and Abuse Aid decisions must always secure bipartisan support there must be full transparency on who's being funded and what they're doing not only for the members of Congress but especially for the American people the fiduciary failure of our aid
▶ 0:28:55aid officials over the past four years years has done tremendous damage to foreign AIDS credibility and America's standing in the world thank you and I look forward to your questions thank you I now recognize Greg Roman for his opening statement Madame chairman ranking member and distinguished members of this committee thank you for the
▶ 0:29:25opportunity to speak today my name is Greg Roman director of the Middle East forum and I'm here because there's a fox loose in the hen housee of our foreign aid system a system intended to uplip lives abroad that instead has funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to radical and terrorist linked organizations if we don't fix these fences now we risk fueling violence against our allies our troops and potentially ourselves let me be clear this is a problem that began under the Obama Administration and was exacerbated under the Biden Administration it's
▶ 0:29:55a problem that has been brewing across both of these 12 years of governance by a bureaucracy so insulated it can't always tell teachers terrorists the result is moral confusion among Grant officers who unwittingly and in some cases May intentionally bankroll extremist causes at the Middle East forum for the last 12 years we've engaged in oversight over all public spending relating to foreign aid specifically those relating to Middle East and islamist causes and we have identified over $122
▶ 0:30:26million which has ended up supporting radical organizations or even directly bankrolling organizations which are considered to be terrorists by the US government that's not Pocket Change that's a jackpot for the wrong crowd terms of our specific findings World Vision over the past two decades this major Evangelical NGO has received nearly $2 billion dollar from usaid but in 2014 World Vision facilitated $125,000 Grant to
▶ 0:30:56the Islamic relief agency an entity linked to Al-Qaeda even after a whistleblower raised red flags usaid rammed through the funding pressured by World Vision sudin Warlords and even us officials who Lobby to delist the terror organization helping hand relief in development in 2023 only two years ago it received a $78,000 grant from usaid despite openly working with the terrorists who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai massacre in
▶ 0:31:26India work ver the offer and Grant came after the usaid Inspector General launched an investigation into a prior Grant to the same group The Jamal Trust Bank in Lebanon usaid dollars helped pad the pockets of this financial institution later designated by the US Treasury Department as a terror sponsor for sponsoring Hezbollah this was no mere oversight it points to a broken system that handed cash to a future Terror entity some
▶ 0:31:56graphical evidence behind me you'll see the badar and unlimited friends Association two groups in Gaza members of the gazen charity badar cozy up the senior members of the Hamas poly Bureau like Abdul Salam Hanah the son of slaughtered Hamas leader isma hania credited as one of the planners of the October 7th attacks on Israel which kill Israelis and American citizens meanwhile UFA officials have called for their lands to be cleansed from the so-called quote impurity of the Jews you'll see
▶ 0:32:26behind me four images which don't just Show members of badar and UFA associating with members of Hamas but also us Aid officials employees of the US government receiving Awards because of their cooperation with these two Hamas linked entities you even have a Facebook post from a few years ago which is the usaid office in Jerusalem celebrating their relationship with a Hamas entity I can't find anything more disgusting and as the ranking members said
▶ 0:32:57we're looking for evidence evidence this is not a conspiracy this is a US communication lastly masking the money Trail billions of dollars and usaid grants are lumped under miscellaneous foreign awardees making it impossible for congress the media or the public to track who's really getting the funds according to public testimony in another hearing in this Congress a portion of this money has ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda Affiliates in Syria how does this happen the oversight conducted by usaid
▶ 0:33:27is as weak as a house of cards in a wind storm like handing out cash in a dark alley and hoping it doesn't buy trouble usaid's vetting system is archaic relying heavily on self-reported data with no real-time checks or teeth primary grantees are entrusted to vet their own subcontractors even when those grantees themselves might sympathize with radical causes in places like Gaza or Sudan groups with blat and extremist affiliations slip through because the so-called Gatekeepers have no incentive or even an ideological
▶ 0:33:57desire to shut them out this isn't a glitch it's a feature of a broken system and here's the kicker it's a problem caused by bureaucrats now threatening American interests at home and abroad it's not just about fraud waste and abuse this is a threat to American National Security and potentially criminal and this committee should take action to ensure that the Department of Justice acts on it and does everything in congress's power to not just investigate but refer criminal actions to the proper authorities thank you
▶ 0:34:28thank you Mr Roman I now recognize Tyler O'Neal for his opening statement chairwoman green members of the subcommittee the last few weeks have featured revelation after revelation of how our tax dollars have been spent propping up radical left-wing causes across the world yet what struck me about the abuse of foreign aid has been the connections with leftist activists here at home as a senior editor at the daily signal
▶ 0:34:58I researched the left's dark Money Network which propped up the influence campaign I expose in my book wapus I found that leftist Elites prop up NOS that staffed and advised the Biden Administration pushing unpopular policies on the American people through the bureaucracy in my remarks I will present three examples of how the left's dark Money Network intersects with just one agency
▶ 0:35:28focused on foreign aid the US agency for International Development the views I will Express in this testimony are my own the left's dark Money Network features George Soros and his open foundations the tides foundation and the network of nonprofits established by Arabella advisors here
▶ 0:35:59these groups which you can see on this chart funnel cash to Dei transgender and climate alarmist causes divisive issues that the Biden Administration prioritized over addressing the concrete needs of the American people the left's dark money network has deep ties to usaid which has rightly received renewed scrutiny under Doge and and after Elon Musk shined a light on it while the open Society foundations
▶ 0:36:29has stated that it does not receive funds from usaid or direct usaid's spending the Soros founded nonprofit has a long history with usaid in 2001 the Soros foundation's Network which became open Society listed usaid among its donor Partners open society and usaid have jointly funded the organized crime and Corruption reporting project a news outlet that attacked conservatives for you guessed it
▶ 0:36:59criticizing Soros open Society and usaid also jointly funded the East West Management Institute among other things The Institute launched Court changes in Albania that critics alleg resulted in the prosecution of Albanian opposition leader Sali barisha silencing the opponent of the country's socialist prime minister open Society has hired at least five former usaid staff including at
▶ 0:37:29least one highlevel official who worked at usaid providing Services amid political transitions in foreign countries former usaid administrator Samantha power met at least twice with open Society leaders usaid has directly funded a different organization in the left's dark Money Network the ties Center the agency has awarded more than $27 million in Grant to the center you'll find
▶ 0:37:59the tides Foundation right here the tid Center has funded many of the leftist groups that influence the Biden Administration and it also operates its own in-house nonprofit called Palestine legal which represents anti-israel riers in court and gives them legal advice former usaid staff have also gone on to work for Arabella advisors which is a for-profit company that set up pass through nonprofits
▶ 0:38:30these groups allow donors to support specific projects without being associated with these projects one of the nonprofits new Venture fund set up a secretive group called governing for impact even though governing for impact had existed for barely two years and did not appear on in a Google search at the time its leaders met with and advised top staff in the Biden Administration executive level bureaucrats who oversaw the vast Federal bureaucracy leaders at the Rockefeller
▶ 0:39:00Foundation another funer in the left's dark Money Network previously held roles at usaid including the former administrator who now serves as the foundation's president other usaid staff have gone on to work at the nonprofits that staffed and advised the Biden Administration including the center for American progress the Human Rights Campaign and the American civil liberties Union Personnel is policy and these connections between the left's influence campaign on the Biden Administration
▶ 0:39:31and usaid reveal how woke Elites have captured the Enterprise of foreign aid thank you thank you I now recognize myself for five minutes of questions and I will inform this this committee and the the public watching that if pardon oh sorry I'm sorry Mr rer apologize I didn't mean to skip over you I now recognize
▶ 0:40:01Mr rer for five minutes Madam chair ranking member stanbury distinguished members of the subcommittee I am honored to share My Views with you they are my own and not those of my current or former employers I have served at usaid and the state department in multiple roles and in non-governmental positions focused on US foreign aid reform and Global development my government service took place during the administrations of President George W bush Barack Obama and Donald Trump every us Administration since
▶ 0:40:31World War II has wanted to shape foreign aid in line with its goals but strangling the system into Extinction is akin to unilaterally disarming at a time of mounting geopolitical competition for Partnerships globally throwing away our toolbox does not make us safer or well positioned to influence the world our set of foreign aid tools reflects enlightened self-interest with it the US countered communism and enhanced the education farming productivity and health of people around the world while also saving
▶ 0:41:01lives our International AIDS and malaria programs have collectively saved more than 35 million lives over the past couple decades us assistance has also built Partnerships and economic growth so much so that 11 of America's 15 biggest trading partners were former recipients of US foreign assistant we are now in a period of renewed geostrategic competition China has been vying with the US for Partnerships AC across the global South inking deals where it can China can and
▶ 0:41:31will fill soft power voids left by the US other potential threats to our security are also connected to developing countries and fragile States from the potential Resurgence of Isis in the Middle East to the spreading influence of islamist militants and Russian mercenaries across the Sahel on the Eastern edge of Europe Russian aggression may continue to grow unchecked and in Colombia The Strife from neighboring Venezuela is spilling over to yield the worst violence in in a generation with that backdrop the Administration has abruptly
▶ 0:42:02and collectively disabled us tools of foreign assistance the White House has said it is cutting programs that do not benefit Americans but their approach is dismantling many programs that help Americans thereby cutting off our nose to spite our face this is evident in many ways first the government has purchased more than $2 billion in food Aid annually from American farmers an American Farm Supply more than 40% of the food Aid usaid sends around the world but with the foreign
▶ 0:42:32aid Freeze and stop work order rice wheat and soybeans are going to waste in transit and in ports in Houston alone hundreds of tons of American grown wheat have stranded the recklessness of the current approach is evident in health efforts too we need our foreign aid to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases from spreading before reaching our Shores but us funded early detection and treatment for dead diseases like Ebola have sputtered to a standstill even where very few waivers
▶ 0:43:02have been issued for some life uh saving assistance reports from implementers indicate that few if any programs have actually resumed due to Payment Systems not functioning and usaid staff layoffs it is also counterproductive to eviscerate programs focused on other transnational concerns ranging from conflict and Corruption to migration and the trafficking of people and drugs this unserious review process is additionally causing our government to be tied up in court cases that may drag on for years and prove
▶ 0:43:32costly in connection to Broken contracts and potential violations of law these losses are unnecessary even if or perhaps especially if you believe like I do in need the need for reforms it is critically important to be able to differentiate between waste and congressionally appropriated projects that may reflect different policy priorities waste is the food rotting in ports it's the purchased medicines that cannot be distributed it is the cutting of programs and firing of people that then in turn prevents this Administration
▶ 0:44:03from being able to meet its own foreign policy goals going forward government will need an oversight approach to programming that includes the following one a congressional notification and review process so committees can pause or halt projects two implementing Partners should undergo Audits and submit detailed plans and quarterly expenditure reports three in highly insecure context there should be vetting of Key Program staff against classified counterterror databases before US dollars are spent and four
▶ 0:44:34An Inspector General should be empowered to conduct investigations and other activities to help identify prevent and punish any proven misuse of taxpayer funding the issue before you today is that these elements are precisely the safeguards that have already been in place at usaid but the Staffing to carry it out has just been gutted by destroying this system of oversight the Administration has done more damage to effective progam programming than any specific project failures critics of foreign aid may choose to highlight we should all care about foreign aid
▶ 0:45:04we should care enough to make it better not kill it Congress has a role to play thank you thank you Witnesses for your testimony again Mr anger I apologize um we can also confirm the world program uh posted that the recent pause concerning in kind food assistance to wfp has been uh this allows for resumption of food purchases and deliveries us Aid Madam chair are
▶ 0:45:34we are we going member to member or do you get to make a speech in between each each witness um if you're going to offer evidence or you're not recogniz in the clock you're not recognized it's my time I now recognize myself for five minutes of questions and this committee based on this hearing and witness testimonies will consider recommending investigations and criminal referrals when Joe Biden was President his son Hunter
▶ 0:46:04was on the board of a Ukrainian Energy company called barisma the prosecutor general of Ukraine at the time Victor shoken was investigating bisma for corruption Biden threatened and it's on video to withhold 1 billion of usaid Grant to Ukraine if Shen wasn't fired Mr primar is usaid supposed to be used as is leveraged by a president to protect son no we call that
▶ 0:46:36corruption Mr Prim in your estimation roughly what percentage of usaid funding is doled out to Bad actors or to efforts that don't have the best interest of Americans in mind I think what troubles me most is learning I believe last year following the the hard work of the house Foreign Affairs committee and senator uh Janie Ernst that usaid has been paying out over 50% of uh to uh overhead charges the office
▶ 0:47:06of Inspector General of us Aid criticized the agency for not knowing the overhead charges being uh handed out to all of these actors for $142 billion of dispersements that is extremely troubling yes um Mr per Samantha power Biden's us Aid administrator openly spoke about her agency's efforts to promote democracy around the world and your estimation Mr primar is that what she was doing
▶ 0:47:36if not was usaid do what was usaid doing during the Biden Administration let me cite the Holy Father uh Pope Francis who accused usid and other donors of promoting ideological colonization pushing a radical uh uh ideology onto the developing world that is anti family and anti-life it has been asserted that usaid spent tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars to promote propaganda in Brazil
▶ 0:48:07in the leadup to the balsero Lula election in 2022 it has been claim that this funding was used to pass censorship laws and silence bolsonaro's online presence and even bar him from running for office in the future Mr primar can you offer any insight into these allegations or at least comment on whether the US should play a role in toppling Democratic processes around the world I think what we saw was usid weaponized by the Biden Administration and by Samantha
▶ 0:48:37power to attack any uh party that was conservative it just didn't happen in uh in Brazil it also happened for instance in very Pro America Poland and Hungary as well one of the most exensive examples of regime regime change operations fueled by usaid is that of their role in the Syrian Civil War aimed at toppling Bashar al- Assad reports from DD geopolitics and other sources estimate that usaid funnel over 15 billion into Syria over a decade
▶ 0:49:08covertly funding opposition groups mercenaries and anti-government networks under the cover of humanitarian Aid this included support for militant factions and propaganda efforts often in collaboration with the National Endowment for democracy the operation culminated in Assad's over throw in 2024 by Western back groups with usaid's financial Trails documented in Congressional budget reports and criticized by Syrian officials as interference
▶ 0:49:38Mass's assistance Mr Roman do these kinds of activities carried out by an American agency make Americans safer at home or do they risk embroiling Us in more deadly and costly foreign conflicts when the agency is doing it according to the way in which represents American National Security interests it's correct but when it's abused for political purposes ideological umbrage and sponsoring islamism which is inherently anti-American it is the worst exhaustion of American taxpayer money that can be thought of especially when it leads to
▶ 0:50:08the loss and danger to American lives in 2014 during the eurom maiden Uprising in Ukraine which led to the Ting of President Victor Yankovich usaid is estimated to have spent billions of dollars on civil society initiatives that were allegedly designed to the pro-russian government usaid specifically funded Nos and media Outlets that Amplified the anti- yanuk Aven sentiment in an effort to align Ukraine more
▶ 0:50:38closely with the West we also know that nine out of 10 of Ukraine's major media Outlets receive funding from usaid Mr Roman should Americans tax dollars be funding propaganda when it's pro-american propaganda yes but if it's supporting another regime which is inherently anti-am American No it should have no involvement with that which is the pattern we've seen under the Biden and Obama administrations thank you uh I now recognize the ranking member for five minutes all
▶ 0:51:08right well thank you everyone and good morning I appreciate that this committee is going to shed some light on what's going on at usaid but I do really wish that our friend with his golden chainsaw would drop on by because you know what Mr musk we really would like to know what you're up to and so far our friends across the aisle have shielded you from appearing in front of Congress so come on down bring your chainsaw we'll be happy to host you let's dive into some of our questions
▶ 0:51:39with the witnesses here Mr Prim I appreciate your federal service thank you for serving as a Fed uh I hope that you do not share some of the same sentiments we've heard here in Congress over the last several days that our federal workers are somehow enemies of the state but in fact our selfless dedicated individuals who serve our federal government and dedicate their life to this work and I understand that you were the author of the US Aid chapter project 2025 is that correct
▶ 0:52:10yes that is correct and I was intrigued to read it last night because there was a number of things that I agreed with both in your testimony and in the chapter in fact some of the things that I agreed about uh are that US foreign aid is a powerful tool that it should align with National Security interests that we should not be empowering foreign adversaries and I too am also deeply concerned about autocratic regimes uh like our adversaries in China who are aggressively investing in
▶ 0:52:40soft power at the expense of the United States and I also agree strongly with all the witnesses that we need reforms to our foreign aid that we need more oversight vetting auditing and inspection of what is going on however and I I recognize that Mr primak you didn't really touch on this in your oral uh testimony here today I was surprised that in Project 2025 and some of your other statements that one of the
▶ 0:53:10primary areas that you really have disagreed with the foreign aid that has happened under other administrations is in the areas specifically of climate change lgbtq rights issues and promoting diversity and Dei is that correct yes yes and although you did not testify as much today here about these issues I want to just make sure you you do believe in climate change correct climate change sure climate
▶ 0:53:40changes all the time I'm a big reader of History you can see throughout the Millennia there absolutely and you understand that right now our allies in the Pacific who are on the front lines and pushing back against Chinese authoritarianism are requesting climate assistance from the United States because they are facing some of the most extreme impacts of climate change correct according to usid document yes or no sir you understand that about our Pacific allies of of people killed by climate change
▶ 0:54:1099% drop sir the question do you understand that our Pacific allies who we have defense agreements and compacts with are asking the United States for climate assistance as for the exchange to provide a place for the United States for example to push back against Chinese authoritarianism you understand that correct yes under Trump we were helping so that is why we are involved in providing financial assistance and foreign
▶ 0:54:40aid around climate change in addition to the fact that it is a global threat now I understand that you also um and I'm not even going to use the language here because I I don't I I very much disagree with it but I I just want to ask you that lgbtq people exist and have human right absolutely we were doing that under and and you also agree that our governments and our institutions should look like and reflect
▶ 0:55:10the people that they represent especially overseas it's part of being able to actually engage with foreign governments correct if we want to do counter China there's nothing more that has alienated billions of people pushing ideology that resent okay well I I see that you're not interested in engaging in the conversation and while we can agree to disagree uh I'll take this as a difference in values maybe worldview but I just want to point out here that this
▶ 0:55:41perfectly aligns with what the Trump Administration is doing in trying to gut programs around diversity Equity inclusion supporting lgbtq rights and human rights overseas and climate change and helping our allies over sees and this is not waste Fraud and Abuse this is a different worldview you can't just call something waste Fraud and Abuse because you disagree with it now Mr O'Neal uh it's nice to see you here
▶ 0:56:11again nope I am out of time and I will Circle back thank you I now recognize the gentleman from Texas Mr Cloud for 5 minutes thank you shoman and I appreciate you holding this hearing I appreciate you Witnesses for being here uh it's been astonishing to watch we already knew that there was a tremendous amount of waste Fraud and Abuse in our federal government but to watch over the last few weeks as the extent and egregiousness of it has been revealed um I've said a number of times
▶ 0:56:42how aggravating it is that this government is forcing the American people to pay for the demise of their own country um we've seen this a number of times especially in how foreign aid is treated uh and much of this funding we're r Iz in now as Mr O'Neal has pointed out we're uncovering is the world's largest money laundering scheme in in history uh and so you I would like to think that if this these kind of things were put to a vote that our friends on the left wouldn't vote
▶ 0:57:12to support a pickle maker in the Ukraine or to have a transgender operas in other countries um or to send people to Paris fashion week and the like I I would like to think if that was a vote that that would also get a no vote on the other side of the aisle that this is stuff that is not necess you know the taxpayer dollars shouldn't be funding um but you got to wonder about the vitri all you see when these things come in cover to protect these things now definitely the Border uh trafficking institution
▶ 0:57:42that was set up the complete industry the censorship apparatus those are examples where we really saw that these taxpayer dollar funds were going to these NOS that were purely leftist organizations that were turning out voters and getting all this basically being campaign front at taxpayer expense and so you got to wonder how this is happening because this is not in the legislation there's no line item in a legislation that has these sort of things in it so Mr prch I'd like to ask you where where are these decisions being made uh who's who's making the decisions about where these dollars go
▶ 0:58:13this is a combination of cooperation between the Congress and and the White House I can tell you that during my tenure at usid everything that we did had strong bipartisan support unfortunately when President president uh Biden came in but it's it's someone in an agency somewhere is that right making the decision at a pro how how's that decision made who's making that decision like before the check goes out who's pushing the button that says send this check it it starts with the administrator goes down to the bureau level and the office
▶ 0:58:43and the office level but in the end contract officers have to make sure at the office of acquisition procurement that these are following us laws and the policies of the president contract officers now are these people elected we hear a lot about elected officials making these you know certain decisions with there's no one at usid that is elected so yeah so the the people sending the money are not elected officials okay just wanted to clarify that one of the issues we've had is track trying to track this dollars once we it goes out to bring accountability to it
▶ 0:59:13uh and and and there is no connection that we've been able to find to an employee ID number for example uh connected to where the grant money is going out or the contract money is going out we're working on legislation to to fix that but one of the things that's really disturbing is the fact that some of the money that's going out doesn't even have a name of where it's going out you talked about that Mr Roman could you speak to that for a second it's to the tune of billions of dollars correct miscellaneous foreign awardees the issue with it is is is that while the individual
▶ 0:59:44grantees have to apply for a vetting process that usid conducts in terms of a Government Review including with counterterrorism databases there's a self certification process by their subres it's as if though you hire a contract in your house to read to your living room and he hires a bunch of robbers to take everything out and you're left with the spades on the wall rather than having a fully renovated room itself and and so some of these dollars have been going to support terrorist organizations right tax pair dollars going to for support now what would happen if we found a business that was funling
▶ 1:00:14money to the Taliban they would be indicted they would be charged go before trial and go to jail for a 20e sentence for money laundering or for material support for terrorism so so this is one of those cases where it's only it's only legal if the government's doing it right in the opening uh Chairman's remarks she was saying that this is about fraud Wass and abuse and if it was anyone else it's as if though a private citizen can't do this but if a US government agency or bureaucrat wants to give money to a terror organization it's okay yeah that I I find that atrocious I think the American
▶ 1:00:44people do too Mr P I want to touch on one thing because I I've i' I've talked to ambassadors across the world and you hear this we'd like to align ourselves with the United States we don't want to align ourselves with China but when talking to China they're talking roads Bridges infrastructure those kind of things uh things we traditionally known as soft power uh but right now when they're talking to the United States what they've gotten from our state department over the last few years is social re-engineering many of them have come to say you know our nation ASP as judeo-christian values they don't and and
▶ 1:01:14even as I talked to pastors across our country who are working to send Millions into missionaries their eyes and Christian universities to understand the fact that our state department is actually sending billions to counter act those ideals could you speak to that you you can quickly answer and we have to move on I've Speak to many uh foreign African officials for example when uh they meeting with Mr blinkin they were ready to talk counter genocide instead they got to social re-engineering okay I now recognize the gentleman from Massachusetts Mr Lynch
▶ 1:01:45for five minutes thank you madam chair uh first of all I want to thank the witnesses for helping the committee with its work um I've been here a while so I was here actually when President George W bush uh was confronted with with Wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and and uh in the midst of that members of this committee I I I was in the lead because I was chair of the national the National Security uh subcommittee we went
▶ 1:02:15to Iraq and Afghanistan and we we vetted uh some of the billions of dollars that that the president spent over there some of it was wisely spent in in the best interest of protecting our our sons and daughters in uniform others purely wasted that that I think fell into the hands of of our enemies um I think that has been true of every Administration uh that has that has tried as they might to to uh to strengthen America's national security by
▶ 1:02:45Investments abroad um I do want to say that uh what what troubles me greatly is that now we have a cessation of all uh foreign aid and uh you know just take Ukraine for example uh you know I know it's been $174 billion in in uh aid from the US to to Ukraine it's important to note that that 174 billion most of it was spent here in the United States
▶ 1:03:16uh and paying defense workers and defense contractors and putting Americans to work 90% of that on on the defense side and then when you look at the the grain shipments that we have made not only to Ukraine but to others because obviously their agricultural systems are inoperable right now uh those are American farmers and Madam chair I would like to ask for uh unanimous consent just to submit this article from the Associated Press entitled The usaid shutdown is upending
▶ 1:03:46the livelihoods of farmers and other Americans without objection thank you madam chair so and and what also troubles me is that now we have a president saying that Ukraine started the war and Mr rman you're a really smart guy you're up on this stuff you attention do do you seriously believe that that Vladimir I'm sorry that zalinski invaded invaded Russia okay no sir okay
▶ 1:04:16I'm just happy to hear say that I expected that but look members on this this this committee some some are new so some weren't there but we we all sat in classified briefings for months where our defense and intelligence Personnel would brief us and say okay uh this week Vladimir Putin is moving his U armed divisions from vladar in in in Eastern Russia 4,000 miles and and and and positioning
▶ 1:04:47them in front of the Ukraine border anticipating an invasion and then you know afterwards after the invasion uh actually 2020 I think it was U Putin took credit said I ordered the Special Operation against Ukraine and yet you know we have a president saying the opposite he's saying that that uh that Ukraine invaded Russia we start they started the war and uh it's it's just you know to
▶ 1:05:17to restate Mr pac's question was there one Republican in the room that raised their hand and said no Mr no Mr President that is a lie that is false I didn't hear anything not one of my colleagues corrected the president and stood up to him and said no Mr President no Mr President it was Russia it was Russia that started that war they invaded they invaded Ukraine and it's
▶ 1:05:47right for the US to stand with Ukraine and their people I didn't hear any of that that's that's what troubles me you know I I had instances where I agreed with George W bush on some things and I had plenty that I I disagreed but you know that you that's that's congress's role here that's our job to call out call out the truth to power
▶ 1:06:17and so this this idea that that all foreign aid should be should be suspended is is is is an attack on common sense it's it's an attack on on americ National Security for this country and we should be more careful I agree let's look at the years where we're spending foreign aid in an area and in a way that is good for us National Security and let's let's get
▶ 1:06:48rid of the stuff some of it you've already pointed out that that is not in our in our Central interest that that's a good process that I would like to engage in thank you m CH yach I now recognize the gentleman from South Carolina Mr Timmons for five minutes thank you madam chair my colleagues across the aisle are quick to judge the actions of this president in the early days of his administration but I didn't hear any um voices from across the
▶ 1:07:18aisle when President Biden who is clearly experiencing severe cognitive decline uh ran this country I don't even know who was running the country I don't know who was making the decisions I don't know how those decisions were being um formed and who was signing the executive orders he was engaging in you know so it's just very rich that I'm hearing all of these concerns about um Trump's efforts to negotiate peace in Ukraine and the manner in which he's going
▶ 1:07:48about it and I I hate it but I think I have to set the record straight because president Trump and his team went to Munich to the security conference just weeks ago and they were engaged in uh diplomacy they were trying to create uh an opportunity for the United States to have a a financial and economic interest in the future of Ukraine and that was through a minerals
▶ 1:08:19deal the US has a strategic interest in um having a long-term uh supply chain for Rare Earth minerals and so president Trump said we can get on board with this let's do this it might not be the NATO membership that they want but it's a close second and so your concern is related to those conversations because zalinsky originally said yes let's do it that sounds like a good deal and then within 24 hours he backtracked he did 180 and he actually started disparaging
▶ 1:08:49president Trump and he was disparaging the administration so uh yeah president Trump um said some things and tried to create pressure to then bring zilinsky back to the table oh guess what guess who's on the way to Washington to sign the mineral steel so I get it that uh my colleagues cross want to throw stones at everything that President Trump does my favorite was when uh president Trump was engaging uh with Canada and Mexico and the Democrats didn't even have time to
▶ 1:09:19throw stones at his attempt to bring them to the table to secure their side of the Border because it only took him four or five hours to come to the table uh the Articles hadn't even gone to print yet so look president Trump is going to negotiate um Peace in Ukraine he's going to bring all of our hostages home in Gaza and he has deserved uh the leeway now to the issue at hand USA ID 77 million people voted for President Trump because we are out
▶ 1:09:50of balance the Biden Administration whoever was running the show um engaged in ridiculous policies that the American people disagree with whether it's with Dei or uh you know trans policies whatever it is we're turning the page and we're not going to abdicate our leadership in the global Community we're going to hit reset because we are so out of balance that all we can do is go to zero and then build back because we're not going to spend $2 million on sex changes in Guatemala
▶ 1:10:20or $32,000 for a transgender comic book improv these are ridiculous policies that the American people have overwhelmingly said they do not want so Mr Roman to the issue at hand how do we make sure when we get uh our foreign aid back running that we don't give money to terrorists that's a great question so there's four recommendations that I would offer the first is no more miscellaneous listings as we had heard from the gentleman before we have to use public vetting processes that require complete
▶ 1:10:50transparency encourage independent Audits and mandate screen why did we not have trans parcy before I have for the last 18 months been trying to get information about a grant made to what we believe is a Hamas affiliate and the Freedom of Information Act department or the Freedom of Information officer at usid has stonewalled me for the last year and a half and this goes back all the way to 2015 it's bureaucrats think they know better bureaucrats think they know better guess what um we're going to create transparency across all of government and that is what president Trump
▶ 1:11:20is doing through Elon Musk Elon Musk has been asked by the president to serve and he is going to bring bring transparency not just to us to every single nook and cranny of the government because that is what the American people want and it's 2025 we have the ability to do that Mr Roman continue what else can we do to make sure sure I'll go quick I know we're limited stronger accountability me mechanisms clawback Provisions stiff penalties for misuse criminal investigations if you go towards the terrorism financing the state department under secretary Rubio's review must have a roadmap
▶ 1:11:50for better oversight and lastly the legislature must give teeth to its funding bills we have to be able to have robust penalties transparency mandates and real-time oversight tools rather than waiting 3 years to get reports from contractors when they've already committed the violation past the statute of limitations I'm out of we all know sunlight is the best disinfectant and that's that's the path forward with that Madam chair i y back thank you a member of the public audience made an obscene gesture uh it was caught on camera to
▶ 1:12:21a member of Congress I would like to remind everyone in the hearing room room to follow the rules of decorum Capitol Police will now remove the offender and I expect members of the audience to maintain decorum we'll take a pause for a brief
▶ 1:12:56point of uh order or of point of clarification Madam chair um okay well mind do you have a parliamentary inquiry NOP okay I'm okay now okay um I I now recognize the gentleman from California Mr Garcia for five minutes okay well um
▶ 1:13:27thank you to uh Our rcking member our chairwoman and I want to thank our Witnesses for also uh for being here today thank you all for uh for joining us so this is obviously our second hearing uh on Doge and certainly as Elon Musk and Donald Trump uh work together to destroy our federal agencies now a lot has happened in just the last few weeks uh since Doge has been off rating the federal agencies that we care so much about we know that FAA staff have been fired
▶ 1:13:57making our airspace less safe Veterans Affairs staff have been fired risking services for our vets food safety and health staff have been fired as we Face a bird flu pandemic and all of our agencies have been thrown into chaos by Elon musk's emails demanding of course that federal workers respond to what they're doing in the last week which he's now had to of course retract now we're here today to discuss elon's attack on foreign aid which
▶ 1:14:27has been severe and I want to also bring again this is a pick of co-president Elon Musk who of course is leading Doge and I brought this pick of course to our last hearing and I know some folks uh were upset by it but just to be clear we know that Elon Musk is dangerous he's incompetent he's chaotic and he's killing programs that We R r on we know that he's helping to push
▶ 1:14:57through massive cuts to Medicaid that could rip Health Care away from Millions he's pushing tax cuts that will benefit him and his billionaire friends and he is causing real harm to federal workers now some of Mr musk's most damaging actions have actually been towards usaid which we're discussing today over 14,000 adults and 1500 infants have now been estimated to have possibly died because of the Trump administration's
▶ 1:15:27attack on AIDS treatment programs that are actually ongoing as we know they're hurting real people and damaging our national security Now if you look at this chart and you look at all spending in the government and you want to look at forign Native course of which usaid is a part of it's less than 1% of our total budget usaid spends around $40 billion per year around $40 billion per year of this entire federal budget meanwhile
▶ 1:15:58other parts of the budget including for example the defense department spend almost 16% of all federal spending in fiscal year 2025 in fact about half of other discretionary spending in this chart now the Department of Defense is the only agency to never pass an audit usaid actually passes audits all the time and yet we're attacking the one agency that actually is able to pass an audit while we leave leave untouched the agency of course that
▶ 1:16:28can't even pass an audit last year the Department of Defense failed to account 63% of its assets trillions of dollars worth of equipment haven't been properly documented and it's not just their failure to pass an audit I want to just quickly ask about some Key Programs that are over budget and behind schedule this of course we know here is the F35 fighter jet which will cost us two trillion over the course of its life cycle these planes often delivered late the often cannot fly and right now
▶ 1:16:58we know that the F35 is $183 billion over budget Mr uner which is more the 183 billion cost overrun of the F35 or the entire us Aid budget uh the former that you mentioned sir and this is the literall combat ship the Navy by the way thinks this is basically useless in actual combat could could have a lifetime cost of over 100 according to propublica Mr uner that's also way more
▶ 1:17:29than the entire us Aid budget is that right yes way more thank you and I also want to just ask you about the central InterContinental The I'm sorry the central intercontinental ballistic missile program which has seen its cost sore over 81% during its program cycle it costs $41 billion dollar with cost overruns and soaring program cost Mr uner you know what I'm going to ask you but is $141 billion more than the entire us Aid budget absolutely Mr
▶ 1:17:59unker Elon Musk and his companies have received about almost $40 billion in government contracts loans subsidies and tax credits that amount that roughly 40 billion dollars is basically enough to run usaid for an entire year is that correct Mr hunger that is correct for usaid's budget and the programs that it manages the majority isn't talking about Elon Musk programs or asking them here to test ify they're attacking usaid and are supporting
▶ 1:18:29a billionaire who gets richer every single day we got to push back every single time and with that I yield back I now recognize the gentleman from Tennessee Mr burett for five minutes thank you chair lady uh Mr Roman are you aware that we are sending $40 million a week to the to the Taliban yes sir can you name other instances of foreign aid going to organizations we have assisted al-shabab in Somalia
▶ 1:18:59there's been instances of the hamzi network in Sudan Hamas Islamic kaham in Syria dozens of Terror organizations have received indirect assistance from US foreign aid could you elaborate a little bit on the mechan uh mechanisms in place that are to stop foreign aid from going to terrorist groups and why are they not working if we have any in place and I would note that these are you notice these are um terrorist
▶ 1:19:29Weaponry you see some AKs sks's some snipers some clips some um clip carriers probably made in China and I believe these are um small landmines here beside right there let's use Gaza as our case study $2.1 billion in American taxpayers money to Gaza since October 7th when Hamas invaded Southern Israel usid money was going in terms of an emergency use authorization to try to go to parties that usaid formerly had a relationship
▶ 1:20:00with in the Gaza Strip they had to have been vetted by ofac they should have been vetted against the special designated Terror list from the state department and from other treasury organizations waivers were granted because they said that there was an emergency use to have that money come in to Gaza thereby jettisoning the usual typical screening procedures as a result 90% of Aid that was going from the United States by way of its Aid agents in Gaza ended up in Hamas controlled areas and this is ridiculous
▶ 1:20:31essentially what the US assistance to Gaza did was underwrite the ability for Hamas to survive until the ceasefire was just passed a few weeks ago there was no strategic thought for it and there was no screening seems like the emergency might have been to Armed terrorists to kill civilians would that be accurate that's accurate and even more than that Samantha Powers the administrator for usaid was intent on having Israel not be able to defend itself to not be able to defend itself correct uh Mr primar
▶ 1:21:01is that correct how do you say that primac I got Birch it man nobody gets mine right so don't don't worry about what is it primac perfect all right thanks brother how did terrorists explored our foreign aid loopholes well we have we have a lot of our International you pull your mic up I'm sorry I'm can you hear me yes sir you have international Nos and un agencies actively Lobby here in Washington DC against vetting Pro vetting policies that would prevent it I was the senior vetting officer at usid
▶ 1:21:31and what did you say United Nations is doing this the UN sure they everybody's uh everybody who's getting money lobbies here that they're lobbying against us I'm sorry Mr Roman you're there's actually someone who used to work for one of those lobbies the largest NGO Lobby interaction one of our co-witnesses here worked for them from 2018 to 2023 us Aid effectively self funds its own external private l that then goes back to Congress and asks for more money for usaid so the taxpayers fund this lobbyist who's
▶ 1:22:01working against American interest corre possibly killing our allies and possibly Americans they bring together groups in Washington that overseas work with groups that kill Americans yeah I don't need a flowchart to show that I appreciate it um do you think USA programs have been align with the National Security interest the US no they have not they have actually helped China Mr Roman no okay how do these programs compromise our national security Mr Prim they actually push
▶ 1:22:31China they actually push uh much of the world towards China on the green energy agenda uh they push people Ordinary People billions of people towards China because of the resentment caused by our re-engineering are we being lobbied by these Pro communist China groups currently well a lot of these countries don't even have to Lobby because they get the money anyway like South Africa yeah and in fact these lobbyists have come to the house and have tried to kill legislation like HR 160 which
▶ 1:23:01was meant to increase transparency in Us's funding of overseas organizations is that a current piece of legislation that's from the last session last and give me that number again hr60 and what does it do it was meant to uh give us lawmakers the ability to have higher transparency and Terror financing investigations aimed at scrutinizing extremist groups Mr per we had a regulation before we left in the last Administration that anybody who touches money in area in countries where there's terrorists those names have to go through databases
▶ 1:23:32terrorist databases that was overturned by Biden overturned by Biden chair lady I am currently at 5 seconds but I wanted to mention something there's a lot of rhetoric used on this committee and I would urge my friends on both sides of the aisle let's stick to the actual information this rhetoric is I've received death threat and I know the chair lady has and it needs to stop we need to tone it down thank you chair lady and thank you
▶ 1:24:03thank thank you Mr burett U Madam chairwoman I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to enter a few items into the record relating to the waivers that have been provided by um the secretary and uh because Mr berett just went now there is some reporting and perhaps he's in the room if he'd like to respond uh Madam chair uh in this reporting it says that representative berett told a reporter that he has a real problem with a report that two Doge employees blocked pep
▶ 1:24:33far funding uh that should have been granted a waiver by the secretary and said that if it was a mistake they should have been fired we also have uh numerous reports here that these waivers uh may exist but they are not being enforced and there are thousands of federal a Aid workers across the world right now that are stranded as well as International Aid that is sitting in ports and docks if you have the documentation without objection I'm not sure if my name was Miss merch can I if I all to respond
▶ 1:25:03or not it's fine either way no no it's it's just a report I'm not okay I I just but anybody that works for the president that goes against what he says he has a right to fire them so thank you absolutely uh I now recognize the gentleman from Texas Mr casar for minutes I'm going to do something thing that I've never done in a congressional hearing before and that is plead for help from the American people
▶ 1:25:34a plead for Help From My Republican colleagues on something that we actually all agree on because lives are at stake right now I'm going to start by describing the facts on the ground millions of people are at risk of dying of starvation in areas of the world where Democrats and Republicans have already agreed and committed to feeding them with American grown food
▶ 1:26:04for humanitarian reasons and for global stability but yesterday I spoke with people in charge of warehouses in Sudan and Ethiopia warehouses full of food but because of Doge that food is trapped in the warehouse Out Of Reach of starving and dying moms and kids in those two countries alone 150,000 children and moms are at risk of dying
▶ 1:26:34this month if that food is not delivered from the warehouse to them right up the road everyone agrees that's not supposed to happen Republicans voted for this food and Democrats voted for this food to get out Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the food should go out as part of his life-saving waiver Doge chairwoman margorie Taylor green started this hearing by saying that life-saving food programs should still be running we have paid for the food and we have shipped it
▶ 1:27:05and it is sitting trapped in the warehouse because doge is blocking the payments needed to get the food out to the people who need it so here's what that means it means that kids are dying and more will die tomorrow of severe acute malnutrition if you want nightmares just Google severe acute malnutrition and look at the photos the way that healthcare workers determine if a kid is dying of this
▶ 1:27:35is they measure their bicep and if their bicep is less than four and a half inches around then that means you could die of starvation tomorrow think of a kid's arm fitting through this hole think of your kid's arm fitting through this hole these kids could die tomorrow you've heard today about the waiver for life-saving humanitarian assistance and all I'm asking is for Rubio's
▶ 1:28:05waiver to be made real people watching at home you can do something about this I know many of these hearings are live on Fox News I'm a Democrat for many of the people watching you may not agree with me on many issues but I think we can all agree that this food needs to get out of the warehouse and to these kids I've gotten phone calls from conservative friends people of faith that moved to Africa to live out their faith of I was naked and you clothed me I was hungry and you fed me
▶ 1:28:36and they agree that this food should be given out so call your Republican Congress person call the White House tell them you know they didn't mean to do this that this food needs to go out tomorrow if you're in the Press cover this story ask questions about Ethiopia ask questions about Sudan tell the world about this and to my Republican colleagues doge is not going to listen to me but you can fix this pick up the phone make a phone
▶ 1:29:06call y'all could save lives today send an email please put politics aside get the food out of the warehouse save these life you can save these kids lives with thata yield back the gentleman yields without objection I'm entering for the record uh post from the world food program that states we can confirm that the recent pause
▶ 1:29:36concerning inine food assistance to wfp purchase from us Farmers with title 2 Funds has been rescinded this allows for the resumption of food purchases and deliveries under existing usaid agreements it also enables wfp to continue working with our NGO Partners who play a vital role in distributing emergency food assistance to people affected by War floods droughts and other disasters around the world wfp continues to work closely with the
▶ 1:30:06US counterparts and all our donors to ensure consistent un uninterrupted emergency food assistance to hunger hotspots that span Sudan South Sudan Gaza Haiti and other crisis areas I now recog recognize the gentleman where's my list now recognize the gentleman from Missouri Mr Burleson for 5 minutes thank you madam chairwoman and good morning to our Witnesses I want
▶ 1:30:36to talk a little bit about the difference between real charity and fake charity or phony charity real charity is an individual seeing a need feeling the love in their heart the compassion for their fellow man digging money out of their own pocket and giving it to the people in need government charity fake charity is taking from somebody else and giving it to whoever you think that you want to give it to let's call this this us a
▶ 1:31:06program for what it actually is it is a disgraceful betrayal of the taxpayer it it's all under the guise of being charity but for years the Democrats have turned us Aid into their personal slush fund funneling billions of our hard earned tax dollars into a cesspool of left-wing propaganda all masquerading under the guise of charitable Aid and what did we get for it not stronger allies not safer borders
▶ 1:31:37and hardly a dime's worth for the American interest no we got absurdity for it taxpayer cash bankrolling climate activism Dei that are frequently at odds with the values and the needs of the countries that were supposedly aiding this isn't Aid it's a Shakedown of our taxpayers courtesy of the leftwing bureaucracy working with dark Money Networks that Mr O'Neal described so earlier
▶ 1:32:08now I have a question for Mr Roman as Doge has recently brought to the Forefront usaid has often used American tax dollars to push leftist ideology abroad um one of these areas is exporting radical renewable energy uh agenda which I believe is not only not in the best interest of the US but it's also detrimental to the very countries that the a is supposed to be helping um subsidize by anti-competitive energy policy can you can you touch on the
▶ 1:32:38impact um that this this this policy has without being a meteorologist or climatologist or geologist I can't neily speak about energy but I can speak more largely about the sponsorship of agendas which are netha to American interest um specifically in the report that we published about 3 weeks ago we were finding that there were special interests who would come to usaid contract officers they would make recommendations and it was basically the granting like a political commissar in the Soviet Union would
▶ 1:33:08do to his favorite unit rather than looking at what was actually good for the United States thank you Mr pimac um it was once quoted by Samantha power she declared that us Aid is a climate um and so Doge recently canceled 10 climate and clean energy programs including a nearly $85 million award aimed at increasing um you know clean energy in Africa um also
▶ 1:33:39a $18.7 million program to for electric vehicles to be adopted in Nepal um is my question to you is is US Aid a climate agency they wasted a lot of money on it I can't think of any other agenda that has caused as much poverty and hunger as the climate agenda for example the higher energy cost hits the poor the hardest for poor farmers in Africa that have to rely on natural gas-based fertilizers it became too expensive so crop
▶ 1:34:09yields just plummeted and these countries at the same time were prevented from developing their own fossil fuel Industries in which they could generate the income to finance their own Social Services thank you to my last question um has to do with the promotion of values outside of you know the outside of the really the the values of the United States and Western culture as as a member of Congress I've had um diplomats from other countries come meet with me in my office and beg us to stop
▶ 1:34:39using the aid that we're sending to their country as a leverage point to force them into doing things that their country finds their countries find abhorent one of those is the promotion of abortion um it's which is usaid is being used to push ideologies including abortion ideology across the globe uh in fact during the Biden Administration one of his first actions was to sign a memorandum reinstituting the foreign aid to abortion programs but
▶ 1:35:09but um Mr O'Neal that that jeopardized the same funding That was supposed to be helping people with AIDS yeah we've seen throughout the Biden Administration the impact of these far-left organ organizations propped up by the left's dark Money Network pushing a host of causes particularly on abortion I have a big chapter talking about the prosecution of pro-life protesters thank you I back I now recognize the
▶ 1:35:40gentle lady from Texas Miss Crockett for five minutes thank you madam chair um I I just want to see if we can level set because I don't know if people truly understand the point of us Aid um first of all can I just ask you really really quickly each of you yes or no do you believe that soft power matters yes or no Mr yes yes yes absolutely okay so for the American people because I don't know that there's been a conversation about self-power but self power
▶ 1:36:10um is basically our way of building building diplomacy around the world and so how we build that diplomacy probably looks different in every different Administration but the issue that I have right now is that some would argue that we've taken a butcher knife where we need a scapel or others would just say that we are throwing out the baby with the bath water but either way we are not accomplishing our goal because as it's been laid out we have people that have gone hungry have we have people that have died so let me
▶ 1:36:41try to make sure that people understand what it is that soft power is which is building diplomacy the next part of that that I want you to understand those of you that are watching is that as me MERS of Congress we do have congressional oversight to the extent that we actually travel the world we go we sit down with world leaders we talk to them about the programs that we have we talk to them about trade we also have an opportunity to go and visit and talk and see exactly how our dollars are being spent and if you are a good member of Congress
▶ 1:37:11you do that and I do want to tell you about an experience in Africa but I got to get through these other remarks so if I have a chance I'm going tell you why I believe in this with my whole heart we all know that um my Republican colleagues have a a weird fetish with dictators or want to be dictators so it should not come as a surprise that they're here attacking Global uh democracy programs for six decades us Aid has been vital in reducing Global poverty and hunger helping to resolve Health threats like the Ebola outbreak which reached Dallas
▶ 1:37:41where I represent in 2014 encountering Regional threats from Russia and China not only is protin President Trump threatening economic Warfare against our closest allies and partners he's blaming Ukraine for Russia's Invasion threatening military force against Greenland and starting tff Wars with Canada and Mexico he's also defying a court order to release billions of dollars in US foreign aid this committee should be providing oversight of the executive Branch's illegal empowerment
▶ 1:38:11of federal funds but we're here today so that the chairwoman can pedal new conspiracy theories about US foreign aid the dismantling of us Aid is just another part of the Republicans chaotic foreign policy and pro- dictator agenda Republicans are turning back turning their backs on American farmers who provide nearly half of us Aid's Global food assistance I'm going stop here really quickly because I think what happens is that when the American people here that we're sending out money they believe that we're just dropping bags
▶ 1:38:41of money places and that's not what we do but let me tell you China does China does because I've sat down and I've talked to people and one of the reasons that we are behind China is because they have argued that there is no red tape and China is like gangsters like think about um the biggest baddest guy offering you money when you want it like a lone shark right and then when they come back to get their money they want your firstborn your second born and everybody else that is who China is but a lot of people that are desperate for money they go for
▶ 1:39:12that because in America we're going to say no no no we're going to take care of our Farmers we're going to make sure that our farmers are the ones that are giving you the food we're going to make sure that if you want arms those arms are going to come from so I want people to understand we don't just go with black bags and drop off bags of money like that it's not that simple um but I want to get to a couple of questions because I know I'm running out of time Mr anger the chairwoman stated that quote the federal government has been sending billions after billions of dollars to push left-wing
▶ 1:39:42ideology fund radical extremist groups and usurp the will of the people abroad and here at home is saving 20 million lives through the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief or pep far part of some left-wing ideology uh yes or no no in fact he far was created by uh by Republicans it was created by Republicans thank you for that that fact in fact it was a bush a Texan um what about eradicating polio in nearly every country and cutting malaria
▶ 1:40:12deps in half no okay so here's here's the other thing and I don't know if anybody knows the answer to this question we have been talking about us Aid and trying to pretend like it's the devil but when we look at the numbers is it 50% of our budget that goes to us Aid uner yes no the money that goes to Aid is less than one cent if all of the federal budget is $1 thank you it is less than one% of our budget so we are focusing on less than 1%
▶ 1:40:42instead of the other 99% I need the American people to wake up and recognize and start asking questions about these other areas such as the gentle ladies time has expired I now recognize the gentlemen from Georgia Mr Jack for 5 minutes chairwoman Chom I wanted to ask for unanimous consent to enter an article into the record from this morning it is an article from The Washington Post this morning titled judge orders Trump Administration to pay millions in usid funds that the UN world food program has owed
▶ 1:41:12more than $820 million in funds from just this morning without objection so ordered Mr Jack well thank you madam chairwoman and I want to commend you uh for holding hearings trying to ensure that the taxpayer dollars is held accountable our last hearing I just want to note for the record we discuss the $2.7 trillion doll over the last 20 years that has been dist distributed uh through improper payments and wasted taxpayer dollars wasted over the last 20 years 2.7 trillion
▶ 1:41:42and one of the things I want to talk about today are some of the general waste Fraud and Abuse we've seen within the usaid program so if I could start with Mr primac um what was usaid's original Mission and mandate and how has the agency strayed from those initial priorities uh from your perspective it was started in 1960s to combat Soviet uh imperialism communist imperialism and it did a good job it responded to a lot of uh natural disasters did a good job helped to integrate former Warsaw
▶ 1:42:12PCT countries as as allies of the United States did a good job but during the Clinton Administration uh but especially afterwards in the Obama Administration and it went full full scale under the Biden Administration started pushing so a social re-engineering agenda and if I can speak to that for a moment what would you say are the main deficiencies and usad is vetting an oversight process that has led to this waste Fraud and Abuse it's an an an a industrial complex that refuses uh to have accountability and oversight and Mr Roman
▶ 1:42:43if I could ask you just to expand upon that sure I'll give you an example of the together project in Civic space islamist organizations which work with designated Terror organizations different Mid Eastern countries and territories came under attack by our organization the Middle East Forum back in 2017 they put together a Lobby which acted as an umbrella to go to Congress to say ignore that organization that's exposing public data about moneyo to radical organizations they're so-called quote unquote islamophobic so by using politically charged language they try to cover
▶ 1:43:13up their associations with Terror organizations then they went back to usid said look Congress is going to fund us now because we lobbied for successful bills and they got more more money and what steps would you say uh Mr Roman are needed to be taken to ensure Grant recipients follow the rules and cooperate with the policies in place I think there's a gap in vetting and enforcement allowing funds to move both directly and indirectly to extremist link groups you have to have a pipeline where all the money that's coming out of US government coffers
▶ 1:43:43is traceable exactly to which organization and subgrantee it goes to and then once if you have one dollar touch one individual that individual or that organization has to report back to be compared against us vetting databases before a check is cut to them and if I could ask the same question uh to you Mr Prime uh what are some steps we could take to ensure the grant recipients don't uh evade some of the requirements needed I think we need we need to have a Consolidated website where every single award and sub award is on there where not only members of Congress can look
▶ 1:44:13at it but the American people who fund this can go through it and that's the kind of transparency and accountability that's going to force folks to be careful what they do and if I can just asked uh we'll go back to Mr Roman I really appreciated that example with what time I have left um could you offer any other examples of of mechanisms by which uh entities evaded transparency requirements something that you know we all talk about and we've all seen the egregious spending across the board that's been illuminated by many members of this committee over the last two weeks but when it comes to
▶ 1:44:43evading some of these requirements I want to speak directly to that and enter that in the record to the extent you could share there's a bifurcation of the problem one is the organizations which are abusing us tax PA dollars but the second is the bureaucrats who are allowing them to get away with it sometimes because they're not looking and being blind to the issue other times because they're intentionally pursuing an ideological agenda that Congress didn't appropriate or authorize you have to direct funding to have individuals that are getting money to be able to authorize that money and the reports on the grants that they make after the funding period
▶ 1:45:13is over should also be publicly available rather than just how much money was spent in addition to that there is many other individuals and Partnerships that go beyond usaid for instance foundations supporting extremists persistent lapses in sanctions enforcement and also potential violations of us criminal statutes the report that we put out suggests that funding streams may have contravened laws prohibiting material support to terrorism sanctions violations fraud and false statements both by the
▶ 1:45:43grantees and some of the grant tours well I appreciate the testimony from both of y'all today and for all Witnesses for appearing before the committee ultimately I think what the the chairwoman's been trying to do through these hearings is try to ensure that American taxpayer dollars are protected and used to the betterment of American citizens and our interests uh here in our country and they're not wasted and if I could just spend Madam chairwoman the last 20 seconds of my U test or my my questioning today noting that we in our committee should have a decorum and the other side
▶ 1:46:14after our last Committee hearing which should have been a bipartisan issue talking about waste Fraud and Abuse within government programs going out the door shortly after that hearing uh one of our committee members called for real weapons to be brought to this political debate and I think that's atrocious I think that's egregious and I would just like to not and I would just like to not I reclaim my time but I just like to note Madam chairwoman you're not recognized Miss stury you're not out of time and you're spreading lies you're not recognized Miss stanbury so
▶ 1:46:44I will just I will just close by saying we should have more to Quorum in this and uh expect it especially from the American taxpayers who are paying our salaries to be here thank you thank you and um I I do want to agree with that there was a member of this committee that went on CNN and said it's time for actual weapons to be used that is documented it's on video and and we will not tolerate that type of language and calls for violence on this committee uh I now recognize uh the gentleman from Texas Mr Gil for
▶ 1:47:14five minutes thank you madam chairwoman and and thank you so much for holding this hearing today we've heard throughout this hearing a bit more of the same shrill calumny against President Trump and Elon Musk that we've been hearing for months now but I am happy that a few of our colleagues did concede that we need more oversight and auditing of our foreign aid I'd like to remind them that every time Republicans try to do that and audit where government
▶ 1:47:44money is going they try to Stone Wall us so I hope that they will get on board with protecting the American taxpayer I think as as it relates to foreign aid to the extent that we do engage in foreign aid it of course should Advance American strategic geopolitical interests our commercial interests and of course should help amarate major humanitarian crisis but it ought to be rooted in in realism which is a a recognition that we
▶ 1:48:15have strategic interests abroad that we ought to advance and and and it ought to be rooted in a rational cons ception of the way the world actually is and not the way the some you know leftist secular bureaucrat at us Aid believes the world should be I think that forcing transgenderism and novel sexual fetishes on more traditional cultures does not Advance American interests it
▶ 1:48:45alienates the United States on the world stage we've also seen usaid money going to uh oppose many of our allies abroad Madam chair gave a few examples and and I'll give a few more here um we've seen usaid money funding efforts to influence elections in India against Prime Minister Modi we've seen uh our our Ally Hungarian prime minister Victor orbon AC accusing
▶ 1:49:15usaid of funding left-wing media Outlets that are opposing him we've seen usaid give $12.5 million just last year to the American neare East Refugee agency whose staff openly called for violence against Jews the refugee a agency also funded projects of the unlimited friends Association which is a proxy Organization for Hamas this is not advancing our
▶ 1:49:46strategic interests abroad and these are not promoting American values Mr rer I I've I've got a couple questions for you you've mentioned usaid is is representing American ideas in action is that right yes do you believe that spending over $3 million for being lgbtq in the Caribbean is a reflection of American ideas and action I believe that the programs that are focused on global Health yes or no
▶ 1:50:16is fine yes or the programs that in global health and food security and economic growth are absolutely I'm talk about being lgbtq in the Caribbean is that a reflection of American values yes or no I believe the programs that you're referring to are a reflection of I'll take that as a yes um what about spending $70,000 for the production of a Dei musical in Ireland is that a a reflection of American ideas and action yes or no yes
▶ 1:50:46yes okay great do you think that spending $2 million for sex changes and lgbtq activism in Guatemala is a reflection of American values the information that you are using is so faulty that it doesn't it's a yes or no question us projects no that that is a direct description of what we're spending our tax dollars do you think that sex changes and lgbtq activism in Guatemala is an accurate reflection of American values
▶ 1:51:16abroad is that from do is is that a yes is that a yes or a no what I want this is a yes or no question because they counted the same us program three you're not going filibuster re claiming my time here we'll go to another one how about $1.5 million dollar to pronote job opportunities for lgbtq individuals in Serbia is that a reflection of American values providing job opportunities for allies around the world is absolutely
▶ 1:51:46in the interest of the American people well I I would like to maybe challenge you if you if you really believe in promoting Dei I've got about 20 seconds left then uh in in giving jobs to somebody based on their uh minority status or the color of their skin or their sexual proclivities you might want to consider stepping down from your job and giving it to somebody who has more minority points than you do well if that were what di is about maybe I would but it's not what it's about
▶ 1:52:16I now recognize the gentleman from Texas Mr Fallon for five minutes uh thank you madam chair and uh my colleague from Texas did a very good job uh you know listen the sky is falling we hear it now and not just uh in the do subcommittee but we hear it in oversight from our friends across the aisle sky falling the world's going to end people are going to die and you then when they say Elon musk's name it's never Elon Musk it's Elon Musk Reckless gutting of the federal Workforce in this
▶ 1:52:46hyperbolic fear-mongering is brought to you by the American left and and you why at the I ask and and so many others these uh the Doge committee Dems are using this quite frankly sloppy lazy widely inaccurate and really boring rhetoric because this Administration and this President is finally acting boldly because so many
▶ 1:53:17administrations in the past have it they're acting boldly and courageously to ensure wait for it that the American taxpayers dollars fund federal workers that work I know that may be a radical concept to some now let's set the records straight as well secretary Rubio has made it sure he'd issued a blanket waiver for any life-saving Aid I think it's $72 billion doll that we're spending is USA the perfect vehicle
▶ 1:53:48for this Aid of course not we found that it isn't and we also recogn ize that China has that belt and Road initiative and they're licking their chops and if we took that 72 billion out they're going to fill that vacuum so that's just hyperbolic nonsense that we do not recognize that there's a role to play for the United States in the uh federal aid space but what we want to expose is $164 million going to radical organizations 122 million of it
▶ 1:54:18to organizations that have aligned or at least tied to terrorist so Mr uh primac putting aside the massive issues of handing money over to terrorists and such can you speak to other ways that our foreign aid has actually hurt United States efforts and interests to counter the malign influences let's say of the Chinese party our Aid has created an international Aid dependency it's become International welfare we need
▶ 1:54:48to put uh terms on these programs the whole point of this is to help strengthen countries to economically politically and become strong allies we don't do that when we celebrate 30 40 50 years in a place that means we are failing the point of our jobs is to work ourselves out of a job if we do that if we focus more on trade if we focus more on investment we're going to create the kind of allies in the developing world that'll make us stronger in combating the the China Challenge so you're
▶ 1:55:18talking about self-sufficiency it sounds like you're talking about taking a developing nation and help them it develop and that's what they want one of the countries that come to mind for instance that had a successful Journey over the last 60 years is like a Singapore they don't need fin foreign financial aid for the United States they're a wealthy city state now are they not yeah countries like South South Korea Taiwan and other places benefited look at them now wild successes um okay so also Mr prank while I got you do you know of uh if us
▶ 1:55:49Aid sent any funding toward uh lab research in Wuhan China just what I've seen in the in the in the newspapers yeah I clearly we shouldn't be sending our foreign aid to China when they're our greatest adversary um M Jer thank you for being here just to follow up on some of the things that uh Mr Gil was asking you two million and this is a this is a source this is from the federal award identification number so this clearly happened
▶ 1:56:19uh on the US spending. goov website $2 million to uh quote active uh activity to strengthen trans Le organizations to deliver uh transgender surgeries do you think that's a good use of taxpayer money I defer to Congress sir if Congress appropriated the money notified about the program believe it's in the interest of the americ think it's a good use of taxpayer money I believe it's a good use of taxpayer money for that is very telling I thank you I yield back to the chair thank you
▶ 1:56:54you in closing I want to thank our Witnesses once again for their testimony today and uh chairman comr was going to be here but got tied up I now yield to the ranking member stanbury for closing remarks all right well thank you madam chairwoman it's always a wild adventure here in the oversight committee and as the language was just used wild and sloppy is not what's happening in this committee but what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our Foreign Affairs and foreign aid
▶ 1:57:24and in fact if my friends across the aisle would like to understand the real world impacts of the tens of thousands of Americans who've been laid off and the people who are suffering around the world go home and talk to your own constituents because we know they're coming to your town halls and we know that behind closed doors you are calling the president and you are calling secretaries and telling them that your constituents are upset and that you don't support what they're doing so I do not appreciate you all sitting here pretending like this is not what you
▶ 1:57:54support okay so let's talk a little bit about the gutting of foreign aid and Global realignment that's happening under Trump they're dismantling this agency they're withholding funds they're firing tens of thousands of us Aid staff they're hacking Federal Data Systems they're stranding Aid workers across the world International Food Aid is rotting in ports American farmers has lost millions of dollars in income and a global re alignment with our foreign adversaries including Vladimir
▶ 1:58:24Putin is happening at a scale unlike anything we have seen in American history and the administration knows that these activities are illegal they know that they've overstepped their constitutional Authority they know they're violating statutory law they know they're violating Appropriations law they know that they're violating federal employment laws and they know that they are reversing American foreign policy in a way that we have
▶ 1:58:55never seen before and Donald Trump and his allies are trying to redefine the Constitution by tweet they're threatening federal judges intimidating federal employees and yes even members of Congress using the Department of Justice and why we don't know because not a single person from the Administration has come here to testify in this committee or in any committee about what Doge and Elon Musk are doing and if you look at the so-called
▶ 1:59:25transparency that Elon Musk put online the math does not add up talk about wild and sloppy our friends across the aisle like to talk about how he's some sort of genius and this dude couldn't even post a simple spreadsheet that adds up it's literally off by tens of billions of dollars you guys that's wild I mean like literally that's wild but in in spite of this our friends across the aisle are acting like everything's normal and
▶ 1:59:56yesterday last night they passed a budget resolution that not only is going to gut Medicaid and Medicare but is going to make these cuts and federal firing permanent even though they know it is making America less safe and in the meantime Elon Musk is actually awarding himself additional Federal contracts in fact yesterday it was reported that he gave himself the FAA contract for communications I mean you guys this is
▶ 2:00:26like graft waste fraud abuse all of the things it's happening in front of your eyes literally and they are breaking the law while they cozy up to our foreign adversaries and I know that Donald Trump thinks that he's a king because of social media of course he keeps repeating this but let me say this to you Mr Trump 2 50 years ago the people of this great nation rejected
▶ 2:00:56a reckless abusive King and we won't go back and for the thousands of federal workers out there the aid workers The Advocates and the people around the world who are impacted by these Reckless and heartless and harmful and disgusting cuts that are impacting people across across the world know that we see you we stand with you
▶ 2:01:27we are fighting for you we are in the courts we are in Congress we are in our communities and we will hold this Administration accountable and we will not abandon our allies or our Humanity so with that I say to all of you be strong we will fight back and now recognize myself for remarks I now recognize myself
▶ 2:01:57for closing remarks and threats against the president of the United States will not be tolerated by anyone and the math does add up the United States is 36 trillion in debt 36 trillion there's plenty of spreadsheets that show that as a matter of fact there's a debt Clock you can watch it continue to tick upwards every single day in fiscal year 2020 4 the government spent over 1.8 trillion more than it took in and in fiscal year
▶ 2:02:272025 the interest on our debt is expected to exceed $1 trillion that's everybody I don't care how you vote the American people do not want to continue to fund these propaganda campaigns regime changes terrorist lgbtq TQ initiatives diversity equity and inclusion and other Democrat GL globalist initiatives and even if the people did want to continue supporting such
▶ 2:02:57causes guess what they can support them with their own money through private donations because the reality is everyone we are Flatout broke if the US government operated like any other Private Business which it should by the way it would be completely bankrupt and it would be out of business last year we spent almost $2 trillion more than we took in the United States government is not a charity
▶ 2:03:28and it is not to be used and abused by the bureaucracy to implement the far-left agenda and impose it on the entire world again 96% of all political contributions from us Aid employees go to Democrat Party candidates or packs perhaps that's why we're hearing all the complaining the revolving door between usaid employees and NGS that receive usaid funding
▶ 2:03:58is undeniable maybe we should consider investigating whether usaid funding has made it back to Democrat campaigns has it affected elections the real questions the American people deserve to know answers to are these why are we funding nine out of 10 news outlets in Ukraine why would was former usaid administrator Samantha power visiting Hungary for the purpose of strengthening democ
▶ 2:04:29Democratic institutions when Hungary is a country that is strongly Democratic and members of the EU and NATO why was usaid co-funding joint programs with George soros's open Society to promote radical social agendas throughout the developing World why is usaid involved in the cancelling of Elections in Romania why is usaid involved in funding Court changes in Albania that resulted in the prosecution
▶ 2:04:59of the Albanian opposition leader why is usaid funding censorship laws in Brazil to silence bolsonaro why is usid funding involved in funding the Syrian Civil War what we have learned here today is that usaid has been used as a tool by democrats to brainwash the world with globalist propaganda to force regime changes around the world but if usaid
▶ 2:05:30funded terrorism that resulted in the death of Americans then this committee will be making criminal lastly if this is the funding that has come from the usaid the United States agency for International Development needs to be abolished with that and without objection all members have five legislative days within which to submit materials and additional written questions for the witnesses which will
▶ 2:06:00be forwarded to the witnesses if there is no further Business Without objection the subcommittee stands
▶ 2:11:50e e