USAID - Officially Done
- Thread starter fatpiggy
- Start date
What a dark, shameful chapter in our nation's history.
Obama, speaking in a recorded statement, offered assurances to the aid and development workers, some listening from overseas.
“Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come,” he told them.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy. Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” Obama said. He credited USAID with not only saving lives, but being a main factor in global economic growth that has turned some aid-receiving countries into U.S. markets and trade partners.
The former Democratic president predicted that ”sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”
Bush, who also spoke in a recorded message, went straight to the cuts in a landmark AIDS and HIV program started by his Republican administration and credited with saving 25 million lives around the world.
Bipartisan blowback from Congress to cutting the popular President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, helped save significant funding for the program. But cuts and rule changes have reduced the number getting the life-saving care.
“You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work — and that is your good heart,’’ Bush told USAID staffers. “Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you,” he said.
Bono, a longtime humanitarian advocate in Africa and elsewhere, was announced as the “surprise guest,” in shades and a cap.
He jokingly hailed the USAID staffers as “secret agents of international development” in acknowledgment of the down-low nature of Monday’s unofficial gathering of the USAID community.
Bono spoke passionately as he recited a poem he had written to the agency and its gutting. He spoke of children dying of malnutrition, in a reference to people — millions, experts have said — who will die because of the U.S cuts to funding for health and other programs abroad.
“They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” Bono said.
Bush, Obama — and singer Bono — fault Trump's gutting of USAID on agency's last day
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration in an emotional video farewell with staffers of the U.S.
apnews.com
Helping people all over the world was something that made the US so special.
This is sad.
This is sad.
All 12 cents of every dollar of it. lol at helping people that needed it; they were helping a bunch of NGO crooks get rich. That’s sad. Robbing the taxpayers blind under the guise of relationship building is gross. The VP of the US is literally claiming that 88% of that money was fraud and/or waste. F USAID.
88% and zero arrests?
That kind of claim would be easily proven one would think. Lets see the data.
The magas on this board are a reflection of what has always turned me off about the Republican party - cruelty, a general lack of decency, the dehumanization of "others" and outright selfishness. Of course this doesn't apply to all but there'a distinct difference between the parties in this regard that can't be ignored.
You only call it a huge scam because that's what you were told, along with the fact that you know many liberals worked there and you hate them more than you care about doing the right thing.
Ironically about a month ago. Every single one of you were saying how above board UDAID was, now we know it’s rife with fraud and waste. And the concern from the left is the percentage of waste and somehow not the fact that our tax dollars are being laundered to prop up leftist propaganda and action. How does this not make your blood boil. Americas infrastructure is in shambles and you guys want to give that money to foreign countries to promote liberal, leftist ideology. I would ask how much you give to these charities out of your own pocket, it’s not my responsibility to prop up transsexuals in the Middle East. The left is literally full of soft, sensitive morons that have no idea how the real world operates.
My point was that such a bold claim of 88% waste and fraud would be easily proven. That’s why I said let’s see the data.
But there is no data to support that claim. It’s not a program to promote liberal leftist ideology. It’s a program that has saved millions and millions of lives. There’s nothing political about that.
You have republican and democrat presidents who were in massive support of USAID. It’s also been said that USAID is the best accounted for department in our government. Not by a democrat but by a republican.
USAID has an annual budget of 40 billion. That is .58% of what our government spent in 2024. Wrap your brain around how much that really is in the grand scheme but it helps so many people.
If you are wanting more money to go to infrastructure then why not get that from somewhere like the military who has a budget of $962 billion?
A couple less F-32s for feeding/housing/treating millions of people in need.
It’s also been said that USAID is the best accounted for department in our government. Not by a democrat but by a republican.
Whatever republican said that is corrupt period. Again, if you believe that quote you typed above we have nothing more to discuss. That’s the most preposterous thing regarding USAID I’ve ever seen. Btw USAOD was exposed by Elon. Not a R or D. This isn’t R or D. It’s America vs leftist globalism. Furthermore your claim that USAID has saved millions and millions of lives is inaccurate as well. Cite it.
Whatever republican said that is corrupt period. Again, if you believe that quote you typed above we have nothing more to discuss. That’s the most preposterous thing regarding USAID I’ve ever seen. Btw USAOD was exposed by Elon. Not a R or D. This isn’t R or D. It’s America vs leftist globalism. Furthermore your claim that USAID has saved millions and millions of lives is inaccurate as well. Cite it.
USAID Official, Three Executives Plead Guilty In $550M Bribery Scheme
A USAID contracting officer and three corporate executives have pleaded guilty to orchestrating a decade-long $550 million bribery scheme.
That’s great that they were able to find those guys. Nothing about what they did was pushing “liberal globalism”.USAID Official, Three Executives Plead Guilty In $550M Bribery Scheme
A USAID contracting officer and three corporate executives have pleaded guilty to orchestrating a decade-long $550 million bribery scheme.www.yahoo.com
I’m glad they are being punished. I don’t believe this should get rid of the entire department because of this.
You haven’t showed any data. There’s literally a quote from Bush that talks about how many lives were saved by USAID and their AIDS/HIV program.
The type of behavior below would fall under the umbrella of liberal globalism IMO. You can call it wokism or whatever you want. It’s liberals picking the winners and losers. Liberals deciding who gets what. Liberals deciding what best for the collective. It’s horseshit.
Starting in 2013, Watson allegedly accepted bribes from Britt to steer USAID contracts to Apprio, a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) program, which aids disadvantaged firms with exclusive contracting opportunities
My understanding is that this info is just being uncovered. But people like Rubio and Vance are going on multiple news programs and conducting multiple interviews stating this is fact. So if it’s good enough to take a quote from Bush, who’s a known liar, why not Vance? There’s tons of quotes about this available to see right now.
So because there was an instance or two of fraud found in a multi-billion dollar agency, the whole agency should be scrapped, even though it was instrumental in saving millions of lives?
Now do the Trump org.
I mean the lower numbers in AIDS/HIV deaths would be a pretty clear example of the programs working.
AIDS was a disaster. Fauci was killing millions with AZT. There’s an entire book written by RFK about this. You think the way we handled that was good? You guys are nuts.
Only a maga simpleton could turn a story about Pepfar saving 25 million lives into another false narrative about Fauci from RFK's perspective LMAO.
Key word is WAS. Nowadays people live regular lives following an HIV diagnosis. All thanks to the evil liberal scientists and big pharma.
The US canceled two aid projects in Cambodia in late February — one to encourage child literacy and another to improve nutrition and development for kids under five. A week later, China’s aid agency announced funding for programs to achieve almost identical goals.
...
Although it’s only one example, it appears to confirm fears voiced by Democratic and some Republican lawmakers, aid advocates and former US officials: By slashing foreign aid, Trump is giving China an easy opportunity to fill a vacuum and gain a soft-power advantage in countries where the global adversaries compete for influence.
www.bloomberg.com
...
Although it’s only one example, it appears to confirm fears voiced by Democratic and some Republican lawmakers, aid advocates and former US officials: By slashing foreign aid, Trump is giving China an easy opportunity to fill a vacuum and gain a soft-power advantage in countries where the global adversaries compete for influence.
China Swoops in to Replace Asian USAID Projects Axed by Trump
The US canceled two aid projects in Cambodia in late February — one to encourage child literacy and another to improve nutrition and development for kids under five. A week later, China’s aid agency announced funding for programs to achieve almost identical goals.
www.bloomberg.com
I agree it was a problem. I think it’s crazy how normal a life you can live now and it was a death sentence in my youth. I’m not as confident that big pharma is looking out for AIDS patients, or anyone for that matter. I wish they’d figure out cancer like they did AIDS.
Every cancer case is histologically and genetically different than the other. A cure is damn near impossible. Gene/immune therapy is the next big step
like anything else….. both things are true. There is definitely aid that was valuable paid by the US taxpayer that had value.
There is also money that went to shady NGOs that were not in our best interest or funding nefarious activities.
IMO, the entire distribution should be made public and specifically share where funds went to bogus operators.
Probably in the same place as that AIDS data you’re referring to. What was it? Usaid had saved millions AND millions in the AIDS epidemic? Africa is still ravaged by AIDS so apparently it hasn’t helped too much. At what point do we expect countries to take care of themselves?
Holy word vomit.
Take a breath and figure out your first thing you are mad about first.
Mad? I’m not on here crying about funding corruption and trying to prop up George Bush as some kinda reputable USAID source. That’s you. I’m happy they scraped the entire thing. This is exactly what I voted for and support fully.
