Eliminating USAID will hurt Americans as much as foreigners, if not more
By Charles Ray Frederick - March 3, 2025
As
a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, particularly with
assignments as U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe, I had many
opportunities to work with the dedicated professionals of the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID).
I saw firsthand what they do to improve the lives of people in underdeveloped areas who would otherwise be without hope.
I am dismayed, therefore, to see efforts of the Trump administration, working through billionaire Elon Musk’s questionable organization, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to dismantle USAID and their actions to slander the professionals who have devoted their careers to promoting American foreign policy goals in some of the most distressed and dangerous places in the world.
I saw firsthand what they do to improve the lives of people in underdeveloped areas who would otherwise be without hope.
I am dismayed, therefore, to see efforts of the Trump administration, working through billionaire Elon Musk’s questionable organization, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to dismantle USAID and their actions to slander the professionals who have devoted their careers to promoting American foreign policy goals in some of the most distressed and dangerous places in the world.
In Cambodia, for example, they worked to improve services in areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, maternal and child health and nutrition. They also worked to improve TB screening and diagnosis, clearing land mines, and supported programs to strengthen the country’s agriculture, food security, and environmental conservation.
In Zimbabwe, USAID programs were instrumental in reducing HIV rates from a high of 49.6% in 1991 to 2.4% in 2021. U.S. government programs administered by USAID also helped Zimbabwe improve rural employment, agricultural productivity, and economic development for over 200,000 small farmers.
Most Americans are unaware of
the aforementioned achievements, but more importantly, they are also
unaware of how USAID’s programs benefit us here in the United States.
In 2024, for example, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) and USAID announced a $950 million purchase of U.S.-grown commodities for emergency food aid to 18 countries. The funds were used to buy wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans, indicating that farmers across a wide swath of America’s farm land benefited.
In most of its programs, in addition to agricultural purchases, the majority of the money that USAID spends in its programs goes to organizations or companies right here in the United States. In Haiti, for example, only 7.6% of USAID’s spending went to local organizations.
USAID’s increasing reliance on contractors and grantees beginning in the early 2000s, has created a large number of for-profit development companies that are based in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. So, in addition, to harming the recipients of our aid in the affected countries, DOGE’s actions will also deal a body blow to elements of the American economy, across the U.S. and here in our area.
This is a misguided action that achieves nothing but chaos and suffering for many. The “savings” if USAID and its programs are completely eliminated are less than a drop in the bucket in a $6.1 trillion budget. Aid, not all of it administered by USAID, by the way, currently accounts for 1.2% of the budget.
It won’t move the needle at all, and the suffering of American farmers, organizations, and companies left hanging by this action will offset even this minuscule savings — and that’s provided the administration doesn’t provide subsidies to farmers to offset their losses, as was done during the first Trump administration, when tariffs caused a sharp dip in agricultural sales to China.
When I served in the Army (1962 to 1982), I was taught to always consider the unintended consequences of my actions and decisions. It appears to me that the current administration would be wise to listen to that same advice.
Editor’s note: Charles Ray of Frederick was the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia from 2002 to 2005 and U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2012, when he retired from the U.S. Foreign Service.
In 2024, for example, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) and USAID announced a $950 million purchase of U.S.-grown commodities for emergency food aid to 18 countries. The funds were used to buy wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans, indicating that farmers across a wide swath of America’s farm land benefited.
In most of its programs, in addition to agricultural purchases, the majority of the money that USAID spends in its programs goes to organizations or companies right here in the United States. In Haiti, for example, only 7.6% of USAID’s spending went to local organizations.
USAID’s increasing reliance on contractors and grantees beginning in the early 2000s, has created a large number of for-profit development companies that are based in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. So, in addition, to harming the recipients of our aid in the affected countries, DOGE’s actions will also deal a body blow to elements of the American economy, across the U.S. and here in our area.
This is a misguided action that achieves nothing but chaos and suffering for many. The “savings” if USAID and its programs are completely eliminated are less than a drop in the bucket in a $6.1 trillion budget. Aid, not all of it administered by USAID, by the way, currently accounts for 1.2% of the budget.
It won’t move the needle at all, and the suffering of American farmers, organizations, and companies left hanging by this action will offset even this minuscule savings — and that’s provided the administration doesn’t provide subsidies to farmers to offset their losses, as was done during the first Trump administration, when tariffs caused a sharp dip in agricultural sales to China.
When I served in the Army (1962 to 1982), I was taught to always consider the unintended consequences of my actions and decisions. It appears to me that the current administration would be wise to listen to that same advice.
Editor’s note: Charles Ray of Frederick was the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia from 2002 to 2005 and U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2012, when he retired from the U.S. Foreign Service.