When I saw Senator Marco Rubio (R-FLA.) and worked on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I linked its importance to John Kelly's national security and American ideals, and I was able to associate it with American foreigners. I saw him advocate for assistance. Confirmation hearing For the Secretary of State in 2013. American aid was not just a world of change, it was an opportunity to change the world.
It's hard to see him as Secretary of State now and imagine him as the same person the Trump administration is trying to do. Shut down USAID I will impose a blanket Freeze foreign aid With a few exceptions.
What began as a pause and review of foreign aid has unraveled the entire international development sector and transformed it into a full-scale crisis that could affect the lives of millions around the world. And I just appointed myself Acting Director of USAIDSecretary Rubio is responsible for what comes next.
So, Secretary Rubio might want to take pages from Senator Rubio's book. I'll go back to Senate floor In 2017, Senator Rubio recognized the historical importance of how US foreign aid helped rebuild Western Europe and Japan after World War II.
“Did it help the Japanese people and the German people? Absolutely. Did it help the American people? Thanks to the foreign aid of the US, he has made America strong allies, stable democracy, trading partners and I mentioned how it would improve.
Senator I pointed it out US foreign aid will help strengthen the US economy and national security. “95% of the people on this planet who buy things that live outside the US… Seven of the 10 fastest growing economies are in developing countries.”
For the American companies that are engaged worldwide, he I warned “If you are dying from HIV/AIDS, if you are starving, people cannot become consumers. If you are dying from malaria, they cannot become consumers. Countries where they are unstable If you live in it, you can't become a consumer.”
Secretary Rubio may have changed his song, but it still helps the United States to survive and thrive around the world, which protects American interests. According to Senator Rubio said, “We help people emerge from poverty and ultimately become members of the global consumer class who purchase American goods and services.”
The Trump administration's claim that USAID today is against American interests, or that it is corrupt or ineffective, is a risk of undermining the entirety of foreign aid – claims made without empirical evidence.
Despite what most Americans think, in 2023, US foreign aid accounted for 0.24% of Gross National Income (GNI) and placed the US 26th Depending on the size of the economy, it is listed on the donor country list. This small amount (percentage) far exceeds its weight, and all dollars are growing to support the global humanitarian leaders of the world's poor.
It's a very small amount, so the average American spends about the same amount Halloween decorations According to Oxfam, the aid group I worked for, their taxes are given to foreign aid every year – about $100.
“Halloween dollars” spent on foreign aid in the US achieve far more than my kids' outfits. The US foreign aid is as follows: 48% Lower malaria mortality rates since 2006, saving and providing 11.7 million lives 28 million children Nutrition for under 5 years old is more useful 92 million women and children Access essential and often life-saving care; 25 million lives From HIV/AIDS.
Despite its incredible results, foreign aid, like any investment, can be spent better at any time. There is a bipartisan call to alienate power and resources from the DC Beltway to the frontline community, allowing you to invest your dollars smarter. The first Trump administration led this Localization Agenda And the Biden administration followed suit.
There is more you can do to provide hand-up rather than hand-out materials. And if the Trump administration wants to be serious about foreign aid, we are ready for serious discussion.
But it rips the world's largest aid agency overnight, pulling food, medicine and life-saving aid from the most vulnerable, and thousands of aid workers, including Americans, and the entire community is economic and historical. Thousands of aid workers, including global people who support the myopia world, are fired.
Senator I worked for years ago It reminded me of Americans “We are not a small, vague country… If there is a major crisis anywhere on this planet, we will ultimately build our lives in America.”
As Secretary Rubio is primarily on the foreign aid crisis of his own works, he may want to remember his own words of wisdom from the Senate floor.
Fatema Z. Sumar is an auxiliary lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School and executive director of Harvard's Center for International Development, where he served as a senior role across four Democrat and Republican administrations on foreign policy and international development..
