Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Representative Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the Africa Subcommittee, and Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement following the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report they requested on the Trump Administration’s hollowing out of U.S. foreign assistance.
The GAO found that the Department of State could not produce comprehensive data on its workforce, even in the wake of last year’s substantial Reductions in Force, which leaves the Department unable to adequately plan for the significant assistance responsibilities it assumed after the Trump Administration illegally dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The GAO’s report on the recent drastic changes to U.S. foreign assistance confirms what we’ve known all along: the Trump Administration dramatically reduced programming and staffing without a plan, and this continues to negatively impact the United States’ ability to manage taxpayer dollars effectively and help communities in need.
"Despite assurances that State would be able to subsume USAID’s responsibilities and an early commitment from Secretary Rubio to provide guidance for implementing the State Department’s foreign assistance review, the Department’s Reductions in Force have left it too understaffed to properly execute those functions.
"Meanwhile, State has produced no written rationale for determining which programs to maintain and which to terminate. The GAO notes this lack of guidance could lead State Department officials to ‘make inconsistent or ad hoc decisions or lack the information necessary for effective decision-making.'
"The Trump administration’s failure to plan for the responsible continuation of U.S. foreign assistance after it eviscerated USAID clearly demonstrates how poorly conceived and executed these actions were. The regrettable results include millions of preventable deaths and significantly diminished U.S. soft power and reputation around the globe.”
The GAO report can be found here.
###