4 things to know about the rescissions bill
4. USAID cuts are codified
The package also cuts $125 million designated for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Trump administration took action to drastically reduce the size of USAID at the beginning of the year, explaining its reasons in a fact sheet.
The administration cited payments of $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Colombia, $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia and $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru as examples of why USAID needed to be scaled back.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration planned to reduce the number of full-time staffers at USAID from over 10,000 to 294. Currently, USAID’s website states that all USAID employees, with the exception of those “responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs” are on administrative leave.
“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” the White House stated as it justified an overhaul of the organization.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
